The Other Heir
by dragonflybeach
Summary: Four years after the war, Draco learns he has a three and half year old brother, and learns what it means to be a family.
1. Prologue

Lucius Malfoy died of pancreatic cancer.

Cancer of any sort, save the occasional lung cancer from smoking muggle tobacco, was a muggle disease, extremely rare in wizard society. Especially in pureblood wizard families. They had a genetic predisposition against it.

Lucius had laughed when the healer had told him, had remarked that there was a God and He had a wicked sense of humour. Four years gone in a five year sentence to Azkaban, he learned it would be a life sentence instead. He had refused treatments, other than potions to "make him comfortable" as the healers delicately phrased it, as anything else was merely prolonging the inevitable.

He handled his death with more grace than he had handled the last few years of his life before being sent to Azkaban. He met with the solicitors to set his affairs in order. He even had the mortician come to the prison to secure his "final arrangements". Another of their gentle euphemisms.

When he breathed his last, with Draco on one side and Narcissa on the other, they had nothing more to do than to make a floo call to set everything in motion. Every detail, the casket, the flowers to go on top, the food and firewhiskey for the wake, had all been laid out on paper and paid for weeks earlier. A representative from the solicitor's office had arrived at the Ministry as they opened the following morning to submit Lucius' will and wand.

Draco and Narcissa stood in the drawing room with clenched jaws and bitten lips because Malfoys do not cry in front of others, and accepted hollow words of sympathy from a steady stream of people who were probably secretly glad the man was dead.

They sat in the front row holding hands, as the Minister of Magic lied to the assembly about what a devoted family man and brilliant Ministry employee the deceased had been at some point in his life that no one there could quite remember.

Lucius was laid to rest in the family plot, at the feet of a father he loathed and a mother he didn't remember, next to a child he had never held.

Robert Greengrass had come to Draco after the service and agreed that they should postpone Draco's long arranged nuptuals to the youngest Greengrass daughter for "a decent mourning period". Draco was relieved, not because he didn't want to get married with his father recently departed, but because he really wasn't enthused about the idea of marrying some silly little girl fresh out of Hogwarts at all.

On the morning after the funeral, Draco received an owl asking him to come to the Ministry at his earliest convenience concerning his father's estate. As he had nothing to do other than watch his mother packing for her return to her self imposed exile at the Malfoy villa on the coast of Italy, he left immediately.

He was directed to the head of the probate office. He expected to be told sign here, here, and here, and initial there, and everything would be settled. After all, Lucius had spent more than a week ensuring the verbage of the document was proper for the Wizengamot.

Life was never that simple.

"Mr. Malfoy, as I'm sure you are aware, there are protocols and procedures that must be followed in the settlement of an estate, especially one as large as your father's." the pinched looking man with wiry ginger hair began. Probably some Weasley cousin. "One of those matters is to ensure that anyone who may have a claim against the estate was properly notified."

Draco nodded. "My father paid off all of his debts before his death, and did not incur any further charges on any of his accounts to ensure that the estate could be settled as quickly as possible."

The probate officer bobbed his head in agreement. "Yes, yes, your father was debt free at the time of his death, so we assumed that the estate could be settled immediately. However, there is a matter of another heir."

"What do you mean, another heir?" Draco's brow creased in confusion.

"Strictly routine, you understand, the reason we ask for the decedent's wand is to run a simple charm to check for any heirs who are not named in the will or specifically excluded, to ensure that there are no attempts to defraud family members." the redhead tugged at his collar uncomfortably. "You can imagine, we were quite surprised to learn that your father had a second son."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes. My younger brother was stillborn. It wasn't something my parents liked to talk about."

The man peered at Draco over the top of his glasses. "No. Your father has a second living son."

"That's impossible." Draco growled. "My mother was never able to have any more children."

The man shuffled some parchments and pushed one toward Draco. "The spell was performed three times to make certain. The results matched each time. Your father has a son born 15 December 1998."

"Who?" Draco demanded.

"The spell gives us a date, not a name." the man shuffled a few more parchments. "I have taken the liberty of compiling a list of magical boy children born on that date according to the files here at the Ministry. They're sorted alphabetically by the mother's name. Perhaps you would recognize someone of your father's acquaintance."

Draco took the list the man offered, mentally counting backward nine months before looking at it.

March.

The spring before the fall of the Dark Lord.

A sickening thought came to his head, accompanied by a sinking feeling in his stomach. Draco immediately flipped to the middle of the list and found the name he had been hoping _not_ to find.

Luna Lovegood.


	2. Chapter 1

Draco walked down Knockturn Alley to the Spiny Serpent, tapping his wand three times on the lock and whispering the incantation to open the locked door. He slipped through, allowing the door to close behind him. With only a vague nod at the shopkeeper, he bypassed the shop proper and walked directly into the back room. He opened the door to the broom cupboard, moving the middle broom to one side, which opened the opposite wall to reveal a hidden set of stairs.

"Lumos." he murmured, holding the wand aloft to light his way.

At the top of the stairs, he knocked at a heavily carved wooden door.

It swung open easily, revealing a brightly lit office beyond.

"Malfoy, early as always." Theo Nott clapped him on the shoulder. "Drink?"

Draco nodded, and Theo poured him three fingers worth of two hundred year old firewhiskey in an elven crystal glass.

"So what is so important that you're willing to throw out enough galleons to convince me to clear my schedule for you?" Nott leaned back in his deerskin leather chair, gesturing for Draco to be seated across from him.

"Remember Luna Lovegood?" Draco asked casually, taking a sip of his drink.

"Loony?" Theo frowned. "What about her?"

"She has a child, almost four years old. I need to know everything you can find about her and the kid." Draco's posture was relaxed but his eyes were narrowed.

Nott arched an eyebrow at him. "Is the kid yours?"

Draco shrugged. "According to the Ministry, he's my half brother."

Nott's eyes widened. "You're joking. Lucius and Loony?"

"She was prisoner in the dungeon at the Manor for three and a half months." Draco answered, studying his cuticles.

"Damn, I forgot about that." Nott swore. "You think Lucius…"

"Obviously." Draco looked up with his eyes, head still downcast.

Theo shrugged. "I'll find out everything there is to know. You know I'm the best."

* * *

An owl came three days later.

_Invite me to dinner._

_TN_

Draco scrawled a note back, inviting Theo to meet at a fine restaurant in Diagon Alley. He then owled the restaurant to make his reservation for an out of the way table.

Theo arrived right on time, ordered a glass of wine and the most expensive steak on the menu, and cast a Notice Me Not charm on their table. He withdrew a portfolio and handed it to Draco.

"Luna Lovegood did not return for her final year at Hogwarts. Obviously, we now know why. Her father had been arrested before the Battle of Hogwarts. He was cleared of all charges and released from Azkaban that summer, and a week later, died when his broom struck an oak tree at a high rate of speed. The official inquest ruled it an accident, despite the overwhelming evidence he committed suicide."

Theo paused, taking a sip of his wine and looking over at Draco. "She was left with no living relatives other than some senile great aunt in Ireland and her son, who was born not quite five months later. Her father was heavily in debt. He had borrowed to finance those expeditions to find the creatures he could never prove. Their house had been destroyed by some sort of Death Eater related explosion during an attempt to capture Potter and company. She sold the property to Bill Weasley and his wife, who tore down what was left and built a house there. She tried to run The Quibbler on her own, but after the boy was born," Nott paused, looking at Draco. "Lorcan Neville Lovegood, she sold it to an investment firm." He took another sip of wine, looking at Draco significantly.

"An investment firm?" Draco arched an eyebrow. "Let me guess."

"Got it in one." Nott smirked. "If you trace far enough back through the holding companies and shell corporations, Malfoy Industries bought it."

"Really?" Draco had a drink of his own wine. "Did he know about the boy?"

"There were no indications that he did, as far as I could tell. I couldn't find any record that he had ever seen the child." Theo shrugged.

Their food arrived. Theo cut a bite of his steak and sighed in bliss, eyes closed.

"You always find the best of everything." he grinned. "She's worked from home since shortly after the baby was born. Freelance writer. Sells articles to the Prophet, Quibbler, a few other magazines. Barely makes ends meet. She's got a small savings but she's had to dip into it a few times. Never married, no serious relationships really. Just her and the kid."

Draco pushed his plate to one side, opening the portfolio. A picture of Lorcan Lovegood was on top. He had the Malfoy nose. And chin. The eyes were different, wide like Luna's, a shade darker than Draco's own. His hair was straight and pale, slightly darker than Draco's but still lighter than Luna's curls.

His brother.

* * *

Draco got up the next morning and flooed to Ravello.

"Oh, Draco." His mother descended the stairs regally, kissing his cheek. "I'm so glad you decided to join me for a holiday. Have you ever been here before? The house is lovely, and the view is magnificent. The house was left to my great aunt Cassiopeia by that muggle actress she was involved with. What was her name? Garbo. I can't believe none of her family knew what was going on until then." She led him to the balcony, where she had a house elf bring mimosas and croissants. "Well, you're here now. I'm sure the matter of settling your father's estate was rather trying."

"That's what I want to talk to you about." He sighed, tearing apart a croissant. "The estate is not settled. There was a small complication."

"What would that be, darling?" She took a delicate sip of her drink.

He sighed. "The Ministry believes Father may have had another child."

She looked at him for a long moment before she arched an eyebrow and asked. "Only one?" She tipped up her glass and drained the rest of her drink, refilling the glass with straight champagne.

"What do you mean, only one?" Draco asked.

She shook her head. "Your father was not a saint, Draco. I thought you knew that by now."

"He cheated on you?" Her son looked a bit surprised.

"Almost the entire time we were married." She responded matter of factly.

"I can't believe you never told me." Draco finished his own drink.

"Why would I tell you?" She shrugged. "It wouldn't have changed anything, except possibly damaged the relationship between you and your father further."

The silence stretched out for a long moment before either of them spoke again.

"Who was it?" Narcissa asked. ""Lavinia Nott? I always thought that one was a bit suspicious, that they had been married so many years, and then out of the blue came little Theo."

Draco had shredded his croissant into pieces too small to eat by this point. "No." He shook his head. "Do you remember during the war, when we had Luna Lovegood as a prisoner in the cellar?"

His mother shocked him by laughing aloud. "Lucius Malfoy fathered a child with a blood traitor? That is just too ironic for words." She shook her head in amusement before noticing Draco staring at the table.

"Draco, darling, don't frown like that. You'll have terrible wrinkles." Narcissa clucked. "Now dear, no one has to find out. You just go offer her a settlement, and once the Ministry is satisfied that the child hasn't been cheated out of an inheritance, the estate will be settled. I'm sure she won't object if you make secrecy a condition of the settlement. It certainly wouldn't be good for her marriage chances for it to become public knowledge that she has a child by a married man."

He nodded, raising his head to her. "I'm sure you're right."


	3. Chapter 2

A/N – Yes, Luna feels somewhat OOC in this scene. But bearing in mind what she's been through, I think a more serious Luna is sort of expected. You'll see later that the old Luna is still there.

* * *

Draco owled Luna that evening, asking if he could meet her to talk about an important matter. She replied the next morning that she was rather busy for the next few days, but if he didn't mind talking while she did some work, he could drop by any time.

He forced himself to wait for two hours before apparating to a spot just down the road from the address Theo had given him. He walked to the house, double checking the address when he reached the tiny cabin situated just off the country road. Bushes grew on either side of the front door bearing the radish looking things Lovegood used to wear as earrings, and there was a vegetable garden in the back.

He knocked, and the door was opened a minute later by Luna Lovegood.

"Hello, Draco." she regarded him curiously.

"Lovegood." He nodded.

"Come in, won't you?" She invited. "I'm working back in the kitchen."

He followed her through a sitting room smaller than his bathroom to a kitchen that was about the same size. A small boy sat at the table, coloring on some kind of parchment that had pictures outlined in black.

"Hullo." The child looked up at Draco with narrowed eyes.

Draco stopped and looked at the child for a moment. The picture Theo had provided had obviously been a good likeness, and fairly recent.

The picture, however, had not captured the classic Malfoy scowl currently on the child's face.

Draco wasn't sure if he was amused or disturbed by the fact.

"Hello." he offered the child what he hoped was a friendly smile.

The boy turned back to his coloring.

"This is my son Lorcan. He's normally a bit shy. We don't get visitors often, other than the Weasleys." She walked over to the stove, where a large pot was steaming. "Like I said, I'm rather busy for the next few days. I have to get the garden vegetables put up before they go bad. We had a really good crop this year. We should have enough to last us through the winter." She scooped string beans out of the pot and into a waiting jar.

"You grow and preserve your own food?" He asked, watching her twist a lid onto the jar, set it aside, and move on to the next one.

"Of course." She waved her hand at jars of tomatoes lined up on the counter. "Lorcan and I are here almost all the time. It made sense for us to plant a garden. We don't have to buy very much that way. Just meat, mostly. Although, there is a stream just down the road that's full of plimpies. They make a very good soup, you know."

"It's dip-scut-sting." Lorcan pronounced with a frown.

"It's very healthy." Luna gave her son a look that indicated they had had this argument before, and turned back to her vegetables. "Draco, you didn't come here to talk about vegetables and plimpy soup." She gave him a sidelong glance.

He sighed. "I've come about a settlement for Lorcan."

She discreetly flicked a silencing charm at the child who was once again coloring and seemed to be ignoring the adults.

"What are you talking about, Draco?" she asked warily.

"An inheritance for Lorcan, from his father." he said evenly.

She reached for another jar and almost dropped it. "I don't know who Lorcan's father is, and I really don't want to know." She answered, her tone firm.

"My father was Lorcan's father." he frowned slightly.

"Your father was one of at least six men who came to the cellar. Any of them could have been Lorcan's father." There was a slight tremble to her voice.

He gritted his teeth, not terribly surprised by her announcement, but still not something he had wanted to hear.

"According to tests run by the Ministry, my father was Lorcan's father." Draco informed her grimly.

"I told you I didn't want to know." She snapped at him.

He startled, because in all the years they were at Hogwarts he had never seen, or even heard about Luna Lovegood becoming angry.

She sighed. "I heard your father passed away last week. I wish I could tell you I was sorry, but I'm really not."

"You always were unfailingly honest." He made a noise that was somewhere between a snort and a laugh.

"That's why you're here." She glanced over at her son, making sure he was still coloring, then looked at Draco. "The Ministry says Lorcan deserves some sort of inheritance. We don't want anything."

"Lovegood," He sighed. "You deserve it, for what you went through in our cellar. It would make sure that he was taken care of, that you'd have plenty of food and not have to struggle to survive the way you obviously are."

"Money won't change what happened in the cellar." She said, seeming to draw in on herself.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." He told her. "I honestly had no idea."

"What could you have done if you had known?" she asked.

"Still ... " he began.

"Draco, enough." She squared her shoulders, seeming to almost pull herself upright. "Lorcan and I are fine. I don't want money or anything else from the Malfoy estate. We just want to be left alone. You've done your duty, so now you can return to the Ministry with a clean conscience. If I need to sign something, I will. But please just let this go."

"Lovegood, please." Draco implored her. "Just take something. Do it for your son. Make sure he's taken care of."

She looked at Draco as if he didn't understand. "He is taken care of."

"Lovegood …" he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Draco, I don't want to argue with you." She reached past him for another jar. "If we have to take something to satisfy the Ministry, give him 5 galleons. I'll start a vault for him at Gringotts." She turned and looked squarely at Draco. "Now, I have to finish this up so I can fix Lorcan his lunch. Was there anything else we needed to discuss?"

"No." He huffed. "Please think about it, Lovegood."

"There's nothing to think about." She set a jar aside, wiping her hands on a towels and starting to lead him toward the front door. She flicked her wand, lifting the charm that had kept their conversation away from the child. "Lorcan, Mr. Malfoy is leaving now. I'm going to walk him to the door."

The boy paused in his coloring and looked up. "Goodbye, Mister." He said solemnly.

"Goodbye, Lorcan." Draco gave him a halfhearted smile.

They walked to the front door, and Draco turned to face Luna again.

"Lovegood ... " He began again.

"The answer is still no, Draco." She shook her head.

"I'll be in touch." He stepped through the door.

"I'm sure you will." She sighed as she closed it behind him.

* * *

Draco walked a short distance down the road, completely irritated and baffled by Lovegood.

They were all but starving for Merlin's sake. Why would the infuriating little bint not just take the money?

He apparated back to the Manor, determined to forget Lovegood and her bastard child and his father's transgressions. He stormed into the house, ordering a cowering elf to bring his lunch to the dining room with a bottle of firewhiskey.

He ate without tasting his food, chewing angrily, washing it down with two drinks. He finally calmed himself enough that he went to the office for a while, shocking his staff who expected his bereavement leave to last at least through the end of the week.

He flashed the puppy dog eyes at the secretary, claiming (truthfully) that he just needed to get his mind off things for a while. She sighed and gave him a dreamy eyed look that reminded him way more of Luna Lovegood from school than it should have.

He stomped into his office, closing the door with a little more force than necessary. He told himself that he was being ridiculous, Spanish born Melina looked about as opposite of Lovegood as was humanly possible and why on earth should he even be considering what Lovegood looked like anyway?

He immersed himself in the prospectus of a new potions firm looking for investors, and was rather surprised at the time when Melina tapped on the door several hours later.

She informed him that most of the staff had gone home an hour ago. He thanked her for staying this long, but assured her he was fine, she should head home too. She told him that she knew better. He needed something to get his mind off things, and began unbuttoning her blouse. He momentarily wondered who the hell wore black lace lingerie to work, but decided it really didn't matter, and let himself get lost in her sympathy.

* * *

He flooed home a few hours later, took a hot shower, had a few shots of Ogden's Finest for dinner, and went to bed.

The peaceful sleep that he had hoped to find in the drink eluded him, as bits and pieces of odd images fluttered through his dreams.

He was arriving at Hogwarts for his first year, but he was dressed in tattered second hand robes, while the Weasleys were all attired better than he was.

He saw Lovegood skipping through the halls, barefoot, singing about nargles.

He saw his father, walking into the study.

He saw Lovegood and her son, cuddled together on a threadbare rug in front of the fire, a blanket around them to ward off the cold drafts.

He saw the fight his fifth year, when he had made up the ugly words to "Weasley is Our King" and the twin and Potter had attacked him.

He saw a little boy coloring at a table look up at him with the Malfoy scowl.

He saw the Weasley family in the Great Hall, crying over the dead twin's body.

He saw his father at the desk in the study, looking every bit the lord of the manor.

He saw Lovegood in his cellar, thin, pale, bruised, and with fear in her eyes.

He saw himself laying in his bed, pulling his pillow over his head to block out the screams coming from the cellar.

He saw his father in the study, across the desk, telling him "A Malfoy is always superior."

He saw Lorcan eating soup, telling his mother "It's dip-scut-sting."

He saw Lovegood's face hovering over the steaming vegetables, rosy cheeked from the heat, with a healthy glow to her skin from the sun, but with a fear and distrust in her eyes that had never been there before.

He saw his father, shaking his head and turning away in disapproval, as he had so many times through Draco's childhood.

He saw the Weasleys, standing united, wands pointed at him.

He saw himself as the little boy eating foul smelling soup, with his own mother in a tattered dress telling him "But it's good for you, love."

Draco woke with a start. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking around the room, and realized that no matter how much he tried to put it out of his mind, the situation with Lovegood just wasn't going to go away.


	4. Chapter 3

Draco tossed and turned until dawn, unable to stop thinking about Lovegood and her son.

He finally gave up, owled his secretary that he would not be in, ate his usual tea and toast, and apparated to the same spot he had arrived at the previous day.

Instead of walking straight up to the front door, he skirted through the woods to come up at the back of the house.

Lovegood and her son were already up and about, dressed, finished with breakfast, and cleaning up after. He silenced his feet and crept back into the edge of the trees, watching as Lovegood and the boy came outside.

"Don't wander too far. Nargles might steal you." She smiled affectionately at her son.

"No, Mummy." He shook his head and smiled back.

Draco had to admit, his supposed brother was a rather handsome child.

Lovegood worked in the garden, picking some sort of vegetable Draco didn't recognize, while her son played in a sandbox, building and destroying with old kitchen utensils and hauling dirt from one place to another in the back of a plastic muggle truck. The child played for more than an hour, making random sounds when rolling his truck or smashing his sand construction while Lovegood worked silently, looking over every so often to check on him.

Finally, the boy stood. "Mummy, I'm gon' get a drink."

"Okay." She called back.

The child went into the house and came back with two glasses of water. He took one to his mother.

"Thank you, love." She paused and drank the water, setting the empty cup next to her rapidly filling basket of vegetables.

The child wandered away, toward the woods, and straight toward Draco. Draco backed up, wishing he was further from Lovegood so he could disapparate without being heard.

The boy soon stood in front of him. "Mister, why are you watching us?"

Draco hastily flung a silencing charm, hoping Lovegood hadn't heard. "I was curious about you."

As soon as he spoke the words, Draco expected the child to ask what curious meant. Instead he tilted his head and asked "Why?"

Draco paused, unsure of the answer himself. "Because I saw you yesterday, and I wanted to know more about you."

"Oh, okay." The child nodded as if that were perfectly reasonable, then held up his cup. "D'ya want some water?"

"Thank you." Draco took the cup and drank several swallows. "Does your mother not let you have butterbeer?"

"What's that?" The boy frowned.

"It's a kind of drink." Draco explained, frowning slightly himself and handing the cup back. "Thank you, by the way."

"You're welcome. We drink juice sometimes, when we have some, and milk, and sometimes we drink tea when we have guests." The kid drank the rest of the water, making Draco grimace as he thought of germs. "Papa Arter gave me sodor one time. It was dark and bubbly and made my nose tickle."

Draco nodded.

"Are you a muggle?" the child asked, squinting up at him.

Draco pulled back the sleeve of his robe to reveal his wand. "Nope. Wizard."

"I wanna meet a muggle. And Thomas." He plucked his shirt out away from himself, pointing to the train with a smiling face. "And Percy. He's green. I gots a Unca Percy."

"Lorcan!" Lovegood called.

The boy looked up at Draco.

"Go." The man instructed. "But don't tell her I'm here. She might get angry."

The boy nodded, backing away several steps before he turned and skipped to his mother. "I'm here, Mummy."

"Where did you go?" Lovegood asked as he came out of the trees, looking more curious than worried.

"I thought I saw something sparkly in the forest." He wrapped his little arms around her legs and laid his head against her thigh.

"You know you're not supposed to go into the forest alone." She chided.

"I could still see you." The boy looked up at her and smiled. "I love you Mummy."

"I love you too." She gave her son an amused smile and ruffled his hair. "But why are you telling me now? Are you wanting a cookie?"

The child's grin widened. "Okay."

Lovegood laughed. "All right, I need to take these in the house any way. Come along."

She picked up her basket of vegetables in one hand and took her son's hand with the other, leading him into the house.

The boy looked back over his shoulder at Draco and smirked.

Draco clamped his lips together to keep from laughing out loud.

Little brother had the makings of a great Slytherin.

* * *

Draco took advantage of Lovegood going into the house to walk back up the road a suitable distance and disapparate back to the Manor.

He immediately owled Lovegood again.

_Lovegood,_

_I am prepared to transfer one hundred thousand galleons into a vault at Gringotts for your son immediately. Please accept the sum, as it will allow you and your son to live comfortably for the rest of your lives if managed well._

_Draco Malfoy_

He rolled up the parchment, and instructed his owl to wait for a response.

An hour later, the owl returned her answer and a beak smeared with peanut butter.

_Draco,_

_Thank you for your generous offer, but again, I decline. Lorcan and I do not wish any money from the Malfoy estate._

_Luna Lovegood._

He cursed under his breath, balling up the parchment and reaching for a blank sheet. He scrawled another note.

_Stop being stubborn! You and your son will be able to buy some new clothing and purchase enough groceries so that he doesn't have to eat fish soup if he doesn't want it. One day he's going to Hogwarts and he will need supplies. Just take the damn money._

He sent the owl off again, instructed to wait for a response.

Her note was short and to the point.

_We will manage. We always have._

He stomped to the floo and called his mother, who sighed exasperatedly at being disturbed during her beauty treatments.

"Lovegood won't take the bloody money!" He raged. "They're living like some medieval peasants, the kid is wearing hand me down muggle clothes, and she won't take the damn money!"

"Rather prideful." Narcissa observed. "Are you sure she's not the illegitimate Malfoy, rather than her son?"

"Mother, I am not in the mood for jokes!" He fumed. "She won't take the money, and she needs it!"

"Why does it matter to you, Draco?" His mother asked. "Are you trying to give her the money because you want to see her and the child cared for, or because you feel guilty about what happened to her?"

He leaned back on his heels, a frown on his face.

"Guilt is a very powerful emotion, Draco." Narcissa continued. "Kingdoms have risen and fallen over guilty actions. If that is your motivation, forcing her to take the money would only put a temporary bandage on your conscience. You have to find a way to absolve yourself, rather than just throwing galleons at her. And most importantly, it wasn't _your_ actions that put her in this situation."

"Whatever, Mother." He huffed and disconnected the floo connection.

He went upstairs, changed clothes, then came back and flooed to Gringotts. He asked to speak to an account manager who specialized in unique situations.

A goblin escorted him to an office, where he was shocked to find behind the desk, not another goblin, but the female former Tri-Wizard competitor.

"I didn't know ... " He began, and then caught sight of the nameplate on her desk.

**Fleur Weasley**

"Figures." He muttered under his breath.

"Ees zhere a problem?" She asked, frowning.

He sighed. "I have a ... distant family member, who is in financial difficulties. I wish to transfer funds to a vault for the person."

Her frown deepend. "Zhat ees not a problem. Any of ze goblins up front could ... "

"It _is_ a problem." He interrupted, mentally chastising himself for his rudeness. "The party does not wish to accept money from the Malfoy family. There was a ... situation ... that caused some unpleasantness."

"Oh." She nodded.

"How can I make the person take the money?" He asked.

"If the person has a vault 'ere, we can transfer the funds to that vault." She seemed to be concentrating on speaking slowly and clearly, minimizing her French accent. "We can establish a new vault in that name if they do not. But you cannot make the person take the galleons out of the vault."

"Pardon?" He frowned at her.

"The person can leave the money in the vault and not use. There is no way to force them to take the galleons out of the vault." She further expounded.

"This person needs my help and is too stubborn to accept." He ran a hand through his hair in aggravation. "How can I help if they won't let me?"

"If zee ... the person has debts, you could pay the debts in private." She suggested. "If you know speciss ... specifically what the person needs, you could arrange it for them."

He nodded, thoughts already spinning in his head.

"But I would suggest that per'aps instead, you mend the quarrel with thees person." She offered him an encouraging smile. "You would both feel better."

"Thank you." He pushed his chair back with a scrape and stomped from the room.

* * *

He returned home, where he reviewed the report Theo had given him on Lovegood and her child.

She was, unfortunately, debt free. She apparently did not carry any accounts, paying for everything as she went.

He did owl the butcher shop the Malfoys used, asking to have two week's worth of meat delivered to her, requesting that the source of the gift not be revealed to her. He would have sent more, but he had neglected to check on her storage capabilities.

Two hours later, the butcher owled back that she had refused to accept the meat.

"You will accept it." He said aloud, even though he was the only one in the room.

It was nearly four in the afternoon, with hours of daylight still remaining in the late summer day, so Draco apparated back to the outskirts of St. Ottery Catchpole. He walked back into the woods behind the house, silencing his feet and disillusioning himself this time, to make sure he wasn't seen.

He watched, as Lovegood was digging up carrots and her son was running around with a stick between his legs that had a stuffed head mounted on the end.

"Isn't your horse tired yet?" Lovegood asked.

"It's a flying horse, Mummy." The boy explained with exaggerated patience. "They don' get tired."

"I'm sure they do." She answered him, not looking up from her work.

The child galloped around the small yard for a few more moments before making his way into the edge of the forest.

"Are you back, Mister?" The boy asked.

Draco cast a silencing charm again, cursing under his breath. "Can you see me?" he asked.

"Not really." The child frowned. "But where you are, it doesn't look right."

Draco sighed. "Just go back to your mum. I'm not going to hurt anything."

"Are you my daddy?" The boy asked softly.

"What?" Draco spluttered. "No. Why would you ask that?"

"Because I donts have a daddy. Unca Bill is Buttercup's daddy. Her name is Vick-twa-rawr but we call her Buttercup." The boy told him.

Draco looked over at Lovegood, who hadn't paid attention to the fact her son was no longer circling the yard, and tapped himself on the head, lifting the disillusionment. "Do you know what happened to your daddy?"

The child shook his head emphatically no. "My mummy said I just donts have one. It's just me and her. I had a grandpa but he died. I want a daddy. Daddies teach you how to fly a broom."

"Do you want to fly a broom?" Draco asked.

The boy nodded just as emphatically yes. "I want to fly on a broom. Unca Harry flies me sometimes. But we don't has a broom. Mummy says we can't 'ford one."

"What if I were to tell your mummy to get you a broom? Would you like that?" Draco asked.

The child's eyes and mouth rounded, and he nodded so hard it made Draco's neck hurt to watch him.

"Yes!" he shouted.

"Lorcan!" Lovegood called.

"Hurry back to her." Draco quickly disillusioned himself again.

"Mummy!" the kid raced back to his mother. "The invisible man in the forest is going to give me a broom!"

"You have such an imagination." She kissed his cheek. "Come on, it's time to go inside and start dinner."

Draco waited until she was inside. He waved his wand to cut a fallen tree into firewood and stack it neatly beside the three chunks of log that remained against the back of the cottage.

_Refuse that._ He smirked to himself as he walked back to the road and disapparated home.


	5. Chapter 4

Luna Lovegood and her son wandered through Draco's dreams again.

He again rose early, ate a quick breakfast, and apparated to the road near their house again. He made his way through the forest, which was now becoming familiar, to lurk disillusioned behind the little house.

The firewood was still stacked against the back of the house, which he took as a good sign.

It was nearly forty five minutes before Lovegood and the boy came outside. She drew up short when she saw the firewood.

The child ran to the far end of the firewood, looking at the end of the stack, and then backing away from it to try to peer on top. "Is my broom up there?" he asked excitedly.

Lovegood frowned. "Lorcan, I forgot something. Let's go back inside for a moment."

Draco waited, figuring that she had gone inside to send him an owl.

Three minutes later, two nearly simultaneous apparation cracks sounded just behind him.

"Fuck!" he hissed.

He found himself immobilized and the disillusionment lifted before he could turn around. Potter and Weasley stomped through the forest to grab him by either arm and drag him none too gently up to the back of Lovegood's house.

"Luna, we've got him!" Potter shouted.

Lovegood opened the back door, looking out, with her son peeking around her legs.

"Hey mister!" the boy greeted with a grin. "Hey Unca Harry and Unca Ron."

"Lorcan, please go to your room and let me talk to the men." Lovegood instructed, looking at Draco.

"Okay." The child disappeared into the house.

Potter stepped between Draco and Lovegood while Weasel continued to hold onto the captive's arm with more force than necessary.

"I'm going to lift the spell to allow you to speak." Potter nearly growled in Draco's face. "Don't make me sorry that I've granted you that privilege. And if you make any threatening moves, you'll need to go to St Mungo's before we take you to Azkaban."

He waved his wand, and Draco suddenly found his ability to move restored.

"Now." Potter continued. "Luna tells us that you have been harassing her and watching her and Lorcan. Would you like to tell us why?"

"I don't mean any harm to them." Draco insisted. "I'm trying to help her and she won't let me! I tried to give her money, and she won't take it. I tried to give them food, and she wouldn't even take that!"

"I've told you, Draco, that I don't want anything from you." Luna said softly. "I appreciate your offers, but we're fine."

She glanced over her shoulder, obviously having caught movement in the window behind her from the corner of her eye. "Lorcan, that's not your room!"

The little face in the window disappeared. Draco snickered.

"What's it to you, Malfoy?" Harry challenged. "Have you even _seen_ Luna since the Battle of Hogwarts?"

"I just found out about the boy last week." Draco huffed.

"Why does that matter?" Weasel demanded. "Since when are you head of the widows and orphans fund?"

"Seriously?" Draco's voice shot up with his eyebrows. "Have you ever looked at that child? How did two wizards who are so bloody thick become aurors?"

He watched as the wheels turned behind both their eyes.

Ron caught on first. Or at least reached the wrong conclusion first. And reacted first.

"Fucking ferret!" the redhead moved with amazing speed, punching Draco in the face before anyone else could react.

"Ronald, no!" Luna squeeked.

Ron had already hauled Malfoy off the ground, sinking a fist into the blond's midsection. "Not so fucking tough now, are you? Just with helpless women..."

Harry took two steps toward the pair, although from the look on his face it was hard to tell if he intended to break it up or add to the punishment.

"It wasn't him!" Luna cried, leaping into the middle of the fray. She tugged on Ron's arm that held Draco's shirt. "Let him go!"

"Luna..." Harry began.

"It wasn't Draco! He never touched me!" she shouted.

Ron dropped the fist that he had pulled back in preparation of another punch, but still held the handful of shirt. "What?" he asked, looking back and forth between Luna and Draco.

"Lucius." Harry said softly.

Lovegood nodded, biting her lip. Draco looked away, shaking his head.

"Too bad he's dead." Ron muttered. "I'm of a mind to dig him up and kill him again." He released Draco with a half hearted shove.

Lovegood opened the back door and accioed a hand towel. She wiped the blood from Draco's face, and then drew her wand.

"Episkey." she healed his broken nose with a crack. "Harry, please get some ice for his bruises."

Potter stomped into the house, returning with several cubes wrapped in another hand towel. He handed it to Draco, who applied the compress to the area between his nose and upper lip.

"Luna, do you want us to take him in?" Potter asked.

She looked from him to Draco, to Ron, and back to Draco. "No." She finally answered. "Let me talk to him first."

"Do you want us to wait?" Potter offered.

She stared at Draco as if daring him to contradict her. "No. Draco is going to behave himself."

"If he doesn't, let us know, and we will be _happy_ to take care of it." Weasel told her, eying Malfoy suspiciously.

"Thank you for coming." Lovegood told Potter and Weasley.

"Call us if you need us to come back." Potter reiterated with an odd look at Draco.

Lovegood nodded, so the two aurors stepped away an acceptable distance and disapparated.

"Come on, then." She held open the door in invitation to Draco.

He followed her into the kitchen, taking a seat when she waved him at the table.

Lorcan bounded in from the other room. "Mister, did you bring me a broom?"

"Not today." Draco informed him. "Your mum and I have to talk about it."

His little face fell, and he switched his attention to his mother. "Please, Mummy?"

'I don't think you're old enough for a broom yet." She shook her head.

"Mister will help me ride it." The boy turned back to Draco. "You will, right? Tell Mummy you will."

"Your Mummy and I will talk about it." Draco repeated. "Which means you should go play in your room and let us talk right now."

"Okay!" The child shouted, already halfway across the room.

"I'm really surprised at how he's taken to you." Lovegood handed him a healing draught and then set tea on the table before taking a seat across from him. "He usually doesn't warm up to people this quickly, and you don't really seem to be a person who takes to children."

"I'm not, usually." Draco confessed. "But I like him. You've done a fine job raising him so far."

"Then why are you so determined to interfere in our lives?" She asked.

"I don't mean to interfere." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "He's a Malfoy. He shouldn't be living like ... "

"A niffler?" Lovegood suggested. "They pillage and pilfer and live in cracks in walls and under the floor."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I was going to say a medieval peasant. The two of you should have enough money that you shouldn't have to worry about food or warm clothes for the winter."

"We don't worry about clothes." She assured him. "Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin, you remember Professor Lupin, his son, well, he's almost a year older than Lorcan so Harry gives us all Teddy's outgrown clothes. Fortunately, the two boys like a lot of the same things ... "

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." Draco gestured with his hands. "He shouldn't have to wear someone else's unwanted clothes. You should be able to buy him whatever he wants, and not have to worry about the cost."

"But it's somewhat pointless to spend a lot of money on clothes because little boys outgrow them so fast." She pointed out.

"Why are you so opposed to letting me help you?" Draco folded his arms.

She looked down at the table for a minute before she lifted her gaze to him. In that moment, Draco understood what they meant by the eyes being the windows to the soul.

He could see into hers, and see how much she was hurting.

"Because when I didn't know who his father was, he was just mine. I didn't have to think about how I got him." She answered softly. "But now I know he belongs to Lucius too, and when I close my eyes, I see your father's face and the cellar."

"I'm sorry." Draco reached across the table and covered her hand with his. "I didn't mean to. I just ... I was trying to help."

"I know." She nodded. "And I know it's unreasonable for me to keep refusing your help when we really could use it, but I'm not ready to accept it."

"I can see that." He agreed. "But you can't ... if you sit around thinking about it, you'll make yourself crazy. Trust me, I know on that one."

"I know." She squeezed his hand. "We all had our demons to face after the war. Harry nearly went mad with survivor's guilt." She looked up at Draco. "I don't want you to think I'll mistreat Lorcan or be a bad mother until I get past this. I love him and nothing will change this. I will get past this. I just need some time."

"I know you'll get through it." Draco assured her. "I think you're the strongest person I've ever known."

"Thank you, Draco." She smiled at him sadly. "But what's going to happen beyond that? When I decide to accept help from you, are you just going to give it and disappear?"

He thought for a moment before answering. "I won't disappear. I'll be available any time you or Lorcan need me. But if it won't upset you too much, I'd like to get to know Lorcan more."

"He's not a toy, Draco." She cautioned. "He has feelings, so please don't start a relationship with him if you're going to lose interest when something new comes along."

"I won't." He promised.

"And you can't promise him a broom or anything else without talking to me first." She arched an eyebrow.

"I didn't think about that." He nodded, chastised. "But can I bring my broom sometime and let him ride?"

"I think that would be fine, as long as you're very careful with him. But not just yet. Give me a little time to get my head around everything first."

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a little voice crying "Yes!" outside the door.

"Lorcan!" his mother called.


	6. Chapter 5

Feeling somewhat relieved about the situation with Lovegood and her son, Draco went home, changed, and went to the office. He hadn't realized just how much work had piled up on his desk over the past couple weeks. He plowed into the stack of papers, feeling some satisfaction as they were handled and moved along to the proper disposition.

Once again Melina came in, informed him that the office was nearly deserted, and started to undress. She told him that she thought he was terribly brave to put on such a resolute facade and come to work after such a tremendous loss and how his father would be so proud of him.

The mention of his father brought the thought of Lovegood and her son to Draco's mind and effectively killed any interest he had in recreational sex at the moment.

"Just go." He told her.

"Baby, I'm sorry." She apologized. "I didn't mean to upset you. Let me make it all better."

The more she pleaded, the more aggravated he became.

"Just leave. That's what I told you to do. Do you not speak English?" He snapped irritably.

She apologized, gathering her clothes and rushing from the office. He could only hope she was right about the building being nearly deserted.

He gave her a few minutes to clear out before he left the office. He flooed to Diagon Alley and picked up fish and chips from one of his favorite diners. He took his meal home and ate on the balcony,watching the sunset, casting a warming charm as the evening was unseasonably cool.

He picked at his food, wondering if Lorcan liked fish prepared this way, or if he had ever even had takeaway fish and chips.

He read a bit, remembering how Lovegood always read upside down and wondering if her son did as well.

Draco finally went inside when the warming charm wore off. The house elf had built a fire in the grate in his room. He took a shot of sleeping draught, knowing he would never fall asleep otherwise, and went to bed.

An hour before his usual time, Draco found himself awakened very rudely.

A shouted Lumos Maxima had him drowsily opening his eyes about the same time someone shoved a wand into his neck and shouted at him not to move.

Despite his grogginess from the sleeping draught, he realized that only one group of people could have gotten through his wards.

The Aurors.

He blinked enough for his vision to become somewhat focused. Sure enough, Savage and Longbottom stood over him, wands drawn. Robards and Gaston stood by the door.

"Do you mind if I sit up?" He snapped.

"Slowly." Robards instructed.

Draco did as told.

"May I get dressed now?" he asked irritably.

"I think you're sufficiently covered to answer a few questions." Longbottom growled.

"Do you mind telling me why I'm being harassed in my own home at some unholy hour of the morning?" Draco grumbled.

Savage snorted. "Yeah, play dumb. Actually, you're not playing, are you? Because burning down Luna Lovegood's house less than 24 hours after she reports you for harassing her wasn't too bright."

"Her house burned down?" Draco asked, stunned. "Are she and the boy all right?"

"You didn't even stick around to make sure you were successful?" Longbottom sneered. "Not a very good Death Eater, are you?"

"Answer me!" Draco shouted, leaping out of bed to stand nose to nose with the auror.

He promptly found himself slammed face first into a wall.

"What the fuck, Longbottom?" Draco roared. "Just tell me if ... "

He found himself silenced with his hands bound behind his back before he could finish the sentence. He was unceremoniously marched downstairs, through the floo, into the auror office where he was dumped onto a cot in a holding cell, still bound, silenced, in his pajamas, and barefoot.

A couple hours passed, by Draco's reckoning, during which he was ignored by any and all Aurors who passed by his cell. Finally Harry Potter came in, unlocked the cell door, and released the spells on Draco.

"Potter!" he surged to his feet. "What the fuck? Why won't anyone even tell me if Lorcan and Luna are alive?"

"They're alive." Potter nodded.

"Was that so bloody difficult?" Draco shouted across the room at Longbottom, who was hunched over a desk. "Are they all right?"

"You're free to go." Potter informed him, holding the cell door open. "Lorcan is fine. Luna has some minor burns and smoke inhalation. The healers want to keep her in St Mungos for two or three days, but they said she will make a full recovery."

Draco nodded, visibly relieved.

Longbottom charged across the room. "You can't release him! Arson! Two counts of attempted murder ... "

Potter held up a manila folder in his hand. "The fire investigator's report. There was no arson. The fire was an accident."

Longbottom did not look convinced. "What about the harassment complaint? You expect me to believe the fire was just a coincidence?"

"Luna withdrew the harassment complaint." Potter answered with a baleful glance at Draco. "She said it was just a misunderstanding, just Malfoy being his usual charming self. And apparently it was just a coincidence. The fire investigator said it started in the chimney. Luna apparently forgot to clean the chimney before building the first fire of the season."

"Merlin." Draco breathed.

Both aurors whirled to look at him.

"I gave her the firewood." He seemed shaken again.

"That doesn't make the fire your fault." Potter shook his head. "Luna is very independent. If you hadn't given it to her, she would have gone out into the forest and gathered her own wood."

Draco shrugged, not appearing appeased.

Longbottom gave the newly released prisoner one last glare before stalking off.

Potter gestured toward the door. "Really. You're free to go."

"What about Lorcan?" Draco asked.

"What about him?" Potter frowned.

"Who is going to take care of him while his mother is in the hospital?" Draco folded his arms.

Potter shrugged. "Probably Molly and Arthur Weasley. Maybe Bill and Fleur. Why?"

"I'll take him." Draco announced. "I'm his next of kin."

"No, you're not." Potter informed him pointedly. "His mother is. She's injured, not dead. She has the right to decide who will care for _her_ child."

"She can't seriously mean for him to be cared for by Weasleys!" Draco protested.

"Why not?" Potter arched an eyebrow. "They've been there for him all of his life. You're practically a stranger."

"He's a Malfoy!" Draco exclaimed as if that explained everything.

"No, he's a Lovegood." Potter answered, his eyes and lips narrowed. "The Malfoy family has no legal claim on that child."

"We'll see about that." Draco smirked as he turned and marched out of the cell.

* * *

Hermione Granger burst into the Auror office just after lunch.

"Malfoy is on his way down here. He has a court order giving him temporary custody of Lorcan." She announced breathlessly.

"What? How?" Harry asked, jumping up and sending everything on his desk flying.

"His attorney apparently cited some feudal-era law that states that a child conceived in a manor house is bound to that manor and under the protection of the lord of that manor." She huffed.

She seemed to be about to continue when the door open, and Draco Malfoy, now attired in dress robes and 400 galleon shoes, strode in followed by his attorney.

"Auror Potter." He smirked, holding out a parchment. "I have just been awarded temporary guardianship of Lorcan Lovegood, soon to be Lorcan Malfoy. I would like an Auror to accompany me to retrieve the child."

"So you've had a little boy legally declared your property?" Potter scowled.

"No," Draco replied haughtily. "I have exercised my legal right to take the child under my protection until his mother is able to care for him. As soon as we can have the documents prepared, I intend to have the child legally declared a Malfoy. Then if for any reason his mother is ever incapacitated again, we won't have to contend with this nonsense."

"I don't think so." Potter stepped forward aggressively, his hands on his hips.

"You don't think you'll help me retrieve the boy?" Draco stared back with the Malfoy sneer.

"I don't think you'll file that motion." Potter took another step forward to face Malfoy squarely. "Because the moment you do, I'll arrest you. I will bring charges that you were the one who raped Luna and fathered Lorcan."

"That's not true, Potter, and you know it!" Draco snapped.

"Maybe it is, or maybe it isn't." Potter answered with his own smirk. "But you might be in Azkaban for quite some time while we investigate."

"All you'd have to do is ask Lovegood." Draco barked, although losing some of his bravado.

"You may have tampered with her memories." Potter pointed out. "We would have to thoroughly investigate that possibility." Potter arched an eyebrow at him. "But do you really think she'll speak in your favor after you've _stolen_ her child?"

"I'm not stealing him." Draco insisted. "I'm simply taking care of him until his mother recovers."

"Did Luna agree to that?" Potter folded his arms.

"She was sedated." Draco sighed. "She couldn't answer."

"I'll take that as a no." Potter rolled his eyes.

"I have no intention of bringing any harm to this child!" Draco bristled. "I'm just trying to take care of him. Why can't anyone understand that?"

"You just want to take him home and raise him to be another prejudiced blood supremacist prick like yourself." Harry snapped.

"It's not like that." Draco shook his head, but he was sounding less convinced by the minute.

"Well come on, then." Potter started toward the floo. "Let's get him now. Maybe he'll be done crying before supper."

Draco sighed as he followed Potter to the fireplace. "Why are you so determined to keep Lorcan away from me? Are you still carrying a grudge from Hogwarts?"

"No," Potter answered, his hostility seeming to evaporate. "I don't think you've thought this through very well. Having Lorcan declared a Malfoy means making it public knowledge that Luna has a child as a result of being raped. Do you really want to put her through all that again? Unless you plan to try to sell the idea she was your father's mistress?"

Draco frowned and paused before answering. "Luna and I will talk about it."

"Yeah." Potter nodded, stepping into the fireplace.

* * *

They stepped out of the floo in the Weasley house, which apparently was named after a rodent home. Molly Weasley exclaimed in delight over Potter, but regarded Draco with open suspicion.

"Molly," Potter sighed. "We've come to collect Lorcan. Mr. Malfoy has a court order granting him temporary custody until Luna is out of the hospital."

"What do you mean, he has a court order? Why on earth would the Wizengamot give custody of a child to the likes of him?" She drew back suddenly, her face blanching. "Are you the child's father?"

"No, I'm his brother." Draco answered softly.

""Do you have any idea the suffering your father put that poor girl through?" She thundered. She glanced over her shoulder toward the stairs and lowered her voice. "She has ... "

"Molly." Potter interrupted. "If it's any consolation, I do believe he has the child's best interests in mind. Of course, I believe he's so misguided and impulsive about the whole matter he practically has his head up his arse, but he does have good intentions."

"Where is he?" Draco asked, ignoring Potter.

"Up in Ginny's old room, taking his nap." Mrs. Weasley replied.

"A nap?" Draco frowned.

"Do you have any experience taking care of children?" She asked doubtfully.

"No," Draco shrugged. "But it's just one little boy. How difficult could it be?"

Mrs. Weasley threw her head back and laughed. Even Potter looked amused.

"You're welcome to bring him back when you've had enough." Mrs. Weasley informed Draco with a smile.

"Can I just take my brother home now?" Draco asked irritably.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N - so this chapter is huge. I just couldn't find anywhere else to cut it off.

* * *

Mrs. Weasley brought a sleepy little boy downstairs. He instantly perked up when he saw the two men in the sitting room.

"Hey Unca Harry! Hey Mister! Did you bring me a broom?" Lorcan practically bounced in her arms.

"Not today." Draco smiled. "But I might take you for a ride on mine later."

"Yes!" The child cheered.

"You're going to come stay at my house for a few days until your mum is feeling better." Draco announced.

The boy frowned and looked around for a moment. "I thought I was going to stay with Grammy Mawlee and Papa Arter."

"Things changed." Draco informed him. "But we'll have fun, won't we?"

"Okay." Lorcan smiled again.

Mrs. Weasley set Loran down and handed Draco two pieces of clothing. "Here are his pajamas."

Draco looked more closely at Lorcan. The child was wearing a baggy blue tee shirt, baggy denims that were a little too long, and was barefoot, clutching a raggedy purple stuffed animal.

"Does he not have anything else?" Draco frowned.

Potter looked at them oddly. "His house burned down this morning. They lost pretty much everything. That's how Luna was injured. She got him outside and tried to go back in and salvage some things."

"Oh." Several expressions crossed Draco's face. "Was she able to salvage much?"

"Not really." Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "She got some pictures of her parents, a few small things. But all their clothes and Lorcan's toys except Snorkack were lost."

"We'll just have to get him some new things." Draco knelt down in front of the child. "Would you like to go shopping?"

"Okay." Lorcan shrugged. "Can we go to Sugarplums?"

"If you're a good boy while getting measured for new clothes." Draco nodded.

The child grinned from ear to ear. "I will be very, very good, Mister."

"My name is Draco. Call me Draco." He told the child.

"Okay Mr. Draco." Lorcan answered obediently.

"No, not Mr. Draco. Just Draco." Draco shook his head.

Lorcan frowned. "My mummy says I'm not 'lowed to call grownedups by their first name."

"I'll tell her I said for you to, so you won't get in trouble." Draco assured him.

Lorcan just looked at him uncertainly.

Draco waved his wand to make the boy's clothes fit better. "Are you ready, then?"

The child turned and launched himself at Mrs. Weasley's legs. "Bye Grammy Mawlee."

She picked him up, kissing him cheek, and instructed him to be a good boy for Draco. She handed the child to Potter, who did about the same. Potter then handed the child to Draco, who hastily stuffed the pajamas into an inner pocket to take Lorcan into his arms.

The two stepped into the fireplace, where Draco tossed a handful of floo powder and called out the name of Twilfit and Tatting.

Their presence in the store commanded the attention of the staff, who all immediately offered their services. Draco requested a full wardrobe for his young charge, including suitable outwear for the coming winter.

Draco again promised that if Lorcan was good, they would go to the candy store. The child stood calmly, quiet for the most part, as he was measured and various garments were tried on him.

Finally, as one of the tailors tried a deep blue dress robe on this child, Draco noticed the child frowning at his reflection.

"Do you not like it?" Draco asked.

The child looked up uncertainly. "I would get this dirty when I'm playing and my mummy will say 'Oh, Lorcan.'"

Draco smiled. "This outfit is not for playing. This is when you have to do fancy dress to go somewhere. We'll get you other clothes to play in that your mummy won't mind if you get dirty."

One of the tailors brought over several material samples. "These are some of the patterns we have available for the pajamas."

"Which do you like, Lorcan?" Draco asked. "The Quidditch ones, the dogs, the trains?"

"Do they has any wif Thomas Tank Engine?" He looked up at Draco sadly. "My Thomas shirt got burnded up."

Draco looked over at the tailor.

"We don't have any Thomas the Tank Engine fabric, but if you visit our sister shop, Trinkets and Trifles, we sell the Thomas line of toys, and have some tee shirts." The man informed them.

Lorcan looked at Draco hopefully.

Draco nodded. "Let's finish up here, and we'll go get a new Thomas shirt."

"Yes!" Lorcan bounced up and down, much to the dismay of the tailor.

"He'll need undergarments and socks, too." Draco reminded the employee.

"I wear big boy pants." Lorcan announced proudly. "Even at night."

"You wear what?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"I wear big boy pants." Lorcan repeated. "I don't wear diapers like Buttercup. Teddy hafs to wear them at night 'cause he wets the bed sometimes but I don't."

"Oh thank Merlin." Draco buried his face in his hands.

They ended up with a full new wardrobe for Lorcan, which Draco asked to have shipped to Malfoy Manor. He also asked to have the shirt and denims sent along, having the child dressed in an outfit more appropriate for a young pureblooded wizard.

Taking the child by the hand, the two walked toward the toy shop. Two shops away, Lorcan suddenly pulled his hand out of Draco's and darted into a different store.

"Mr. Odd-uh-vander!" He shouted, grinning.

"Lorcan!" Draco spoke sharply, following him into the wand shop. "Don't run from me like that."

"I'm sorry, Draco." The child looked penitent for a moment, then flung himself at the shopkeeper's knees. "But we always go see Mr. Odd-uh-vander."

Draco looked up, finding the wandmaker regarding him with open hostility.

"You took the girl's innocence, and now you've taken her child." Ollivander's voice was surprisingly calm for the ferocity in his eyes.

"It's not like that." Draco protested. "I'm just watching him until his mother is better. Their house burned down and she was injured."

Ollivander's face became even more suspicious. "Her house burned down, did it?"

"It was an accident." Draco asserted, wondering why he was bothering to justify himself to this man.

"And it's an accident the child comes in here dressed like you." The old man tilted his head toward Lorcan.

"He needed clothes!" Draco huffed. "Come along, Lorcan. We were going to the toy shop, remember?"

"We gotta go, Mr. Odd-uh-vander." Lorcan informed the old man in his solemn manner.

"It's quite all right, Lorcan." The old man patted the child's head fondly. "You and your mum can come back sometime. I'm sure your father is a busy man."

"I'm not ... " Draco automatically argued, but quickly broke off. He was certain the old man wasn't listening any way.

They left the store, walking down to the toy store. Lorcan walked slowly, almost as if in a trance, over to the huge train table in the center of the back of the store, where children of all ages could drive wooden trains with faces around a track.

"Which one is Thomas?" Draco asked, kneeling beside him.

The child pointed to a blue train another boy was pushing. "That's Thomas. That one is blue too but he's Edward. And the red one is James and the green one is Percy and the box one is Toby and the bus is Bertie."

"You know all about the trains." Draco smiled at him.

"My mummy gets Thomas books at the liberry and we read them at night. Teddy has a train table and lots of trains. I gets to play wif them when I go to Unca Harry's house." Lorcan informed him. "But he always plays wif Thomas and makes me play wif James or Percy."

"Would you like a Thomas train of your own?" Draco asked.

Lorcan nodded so hard it was a wonder his head didn't fly off.

Draco waved over a clerk. "We'll take a train table, and one of each train."

The clerk's eyes widened. "There are ninety seven trains in the complete series."

"Did I ask?" Draco shrugged. "Do you have them all in stock, or will you have to ship some of them to us?"

"We should have at least one of each train. I'll make a count, and if we are missing any, I'll let you know."

Draco nodded his approval, and the clerk disappeared into the back room.

"Lorcan, do you want to look at the shirts?" Draco asked.

The child obediently walked over and studied the three designs of shirts, before shyly telling Draco "I like this one best."

'You don't want one of each?" Draco frowned.

"My mummy only lets me get one thing. Or sometimes she says not today." Lorcan answered in his serious manner.

Draco knelt down in front of him. "When you're with me, you can get what you want. If you want all three shirts, you may have all three. Do you want them?"

Lorcan nodded uncertainly, as if still expecting to be told no.

Draco held up two different sizes to judge which Lorcan would need, and then got one of each design in that size.

"Would you like to pick out some books?" Draco led the boy over to the bookshelf.

"How many can I get?" Lorcan asked, wide eyed.

"As many as you want." Draco shrugged.

Lorcan picked out four books.

"Is that all you want?" Draco asked.

"That's enough for today." Lorcan informed him.

Draco paid for his purchases, arranging to have the items delivered to the Manor.

"Can I wear this now?" Lorcan asked, clutching one of the shirts.

Draco took him to the men's room, and helped him put the shirt on under his robes.

"Now what?" Draco fastened the robes back and smoothed the child's hair with a flick of his wand.

"I didn't have my snack after my nap." Lorcan announced.

"And I suppose you're hungry." Draco straightened and looked down at the boy, who nodded vigorously.

"What does your mummy give you for a snack?" Draco took the child's hand and led him out of the toy shop.

"Chocolate!" Lorcan replied enthusiastically.

"Really?" Draco raised an eyebrow at him.

"If we have chocolate." Lorcan sighed. "But mostly fruit or cheese toast."

"I'll make you a deal." Draco offered. "We'll go to the tea room, and have a snack. If you eat your food, then I'll take you to Sugarplums and get some chocolate."

Lorcan nodded and bounced on his toes.

Draco held up a hand to indicate he wasn't finished. "And if you eat all your dinner, you can have more chocolate after dinner."

Lorcan flung his arms around Draco's legs. Draco thought to himself that taking care of children wasn't nearly as difficult as Molly Weasley and Potter had made it sound.

"But," Draco continued, after prying the child loose. "You have to promise you won't run off like you did at Mr. Ollivander's shop."

"I promise." Lorcan answered solemnly. "But we always go see Mr. Odd-uh-vander."

"I didn't know." Draco shrugged. "You have to tell me. Okay?"

"Okay." Lorcan nodded.

Draco took his charge by the hand and led him to Rosa Lee Teabag, where he ordered Lorcan chocolate milk and tea for himself. The waitress announced they had just taken a tray of chocolate chip muffins out of the oven so Draco ordered two.

Lorcan gobbled down his muffin and drank his milk as if he hadn't eaten in a week. Draco made a mental note to have someone work with the child on his table manners.

"Is there anything else you want to do in Diagon Alley?" Draco broke off a small bite and gave it to Lorcan, who was eying Draco's plate. "Or do you want to just go by Sugarplums and then back to my house to play with your trains?"

"Can we get a present for my mummy?" the child asked shyly.

"I'll make sure we get her some new clothes when she gets out of the hospital." Draco promised. "I have no idea what size she would wear. Would you like to get her some flowers and send them to the hospital?"

Lorcan frowned. "My mummy doesn't like cutting off flowers and bringing them in the house. It makes them die."

Draco nodded. "I can see that about her. What if we get her a flower in a flower pot? Then in the spring she can plant it outside and it will keep growing."

"Okay." Lorcan agreed.

They went down to Ernie's Herbology Land, which had moved into the old Quincey's Junkshop location some time after the war. They walked past two aisles of plants where you could cut your own potion making ingredients to a row of potted plants.

"I like that one." Lorcan pointed at a plain pot of daisies.

"Yes, but which one do you think your mummy would like?" Draco asked, trying to steer the child toward a nice aconite.

"That one." the child replied stubbornly, reaching for the daisies.

"Aren't the orchids pretty?" Draco lifted the pot of daisies out of the child's reach.

"No." Lorcan folded his little arms. "My mummy would like these ones."

The proprietor came over, and Draco could have kicked himself for not making the connection with the name.

Ernie MacMillan.

"Can I help you?" he looked at Draco coolly.

"I want those flowers for my mummy. She's at the horsepiddle." Lorcan cut his eyes at Draco.

"Daisies are very pretty, and very useful as well. There are at least seventeen household potions that use daisy roots as an ingredient." Ernie knelt down to Lorcan's level, looking up at Draco.

"Yes, I am well aware." Draco rolled his eyes. "I only made straight O's in potions. But I thought she might like something not quite so ... common."

"Perhaps your wife might like something simple." MacMillan stood, reaching for the pot of daisies.

"She's not my wife ... " Draco automatically responded, but broke off realizing how it sounded. He sighed, looking down at Lorcan. "If you really think your mummy would like those ... "

Lorcan smirked at him triumphantly.

Draco paid for the plant and asked to have it sent over to Luna at St Mungos.

Ernie glared at him, but nodded and wrote down Draco's instructions.

Draco and Lorcan left the herbology shop and walked next door to Sugarplums. Lorcan's eyes widened and he walked almost reverently around the store, looking at each jar of candy.

"What's your favorite?" Draco asked.

"Chocolate frogs." Lorcan answered, barely above a whisper. "And I like Pink Coconut Ice and Gummy Slugs and toffees. Don't ever eat candy Unca George gives you." He shook his head, wide eyed.

"I like chocolate frogs too," Draco smiled, picking up a couple packages. "Have you ever had cauldron cakes?" He added a few of those to his basket when Lorcan shook his head. "I bet you'll like these too." He picked up a box of Fizzing Whizbees, as well as the Pink Coconut Ice and Gummy Slugs.

"Do they hafs Reeses?" Lorcan raised up on his tiptoes to look around.

"What are those?" Draco frowned.

"It's muggle candy." Lorcan explained. "It's chocolate wif peanut butter in the middle. Papa Arter gives it to me sometimes."

"Like Charm Chocs." Draco nodded, adding a package to their stash.

By the time they were finished, they had over thirty galleons worth of candy, and had to have most of it delivered to the Manor. Draco slipped a couple chocolate frogs into his pocket for later.

"Have you ever been to the Quidditch store?" Draco asked as they left the candy store.

Lorcan shook his head no. "I didn't know they had a store for it."

Draco's eyes widened. "Have you ever seen Quidditch?"

"Only when all of the uncas play it at Grammy Mawlee's house." Lorcan shrugged. "Unca Ron says when I gets older he's gonna take me to see the Cannons play."

"You don't have to be older." Draco informed him. "I can't even remember my first Quidditch match, I was so young."

He led Lorcan into Quality Quidditch Supplies and spent the next two hours explaining the game, the equipment, the rules, and why being the seeker was the best. Lorcan absorbed it all like a sponge, and came out with a Falmouth Falcons jersey and a promise Draco would talk to Luna about buying Lorcan a child sized broom.

Draco hadn't realized how long they had been in the store, and was rather surprised that it was dark when they came outside. He took Lorcan down the street to a casual restaurant.

To Draco's amusement, Lorcan picked up a menu and looked it over.

He laid it on the table and pointed. "Can I hafs soup and a cheese sandwich? Chicken soup, not plimpy soup."

Draco's eyes widened as he realized Lorcan was pointing to a section of menu with no pictures. "You can read that?"

Lorcan frowned at Draco and nodded.

"But you're not even four years old yet! When did you learn to read?" Draco protested.

"I dunno." Lorcan shrugged. "Me and my mummy always reads stories."

The waiter came and Draco looked over at Lorcan. "Is that really all you want? Just soup and a cheese sandwich?"

"I'm gonna eat all my food so I can have chocolate." Lorcan smirked. Draco laughed, shaking his head at how Slytherin Luna Lovegood's child was at times.

Draco ordered fish and chips for himself, and when the food came, he convinced Lorcan to try a bite, promising him that this fish did not taste like plimpy soup.

Draco ended up with chicken soup and a cheese sandwich while Lorcan ate more than half of the fish and chips. It was decided that Lorcan had eaten enough to get his chocolate frog, as it had been an adult portion of fish and chips.

Lorcan "accidentally" allowed the frog to escape its package and hop around the table several times before he caught it, giggling, and popped it into his mouth.

"Look, Draco." the child held up his chocolate frog card. "I gots Perfessor Dumpledore. My mummy knew him."

Draco nodded mutely.

"Are you sad, Draco?" Lorcan asked, his face crumpling in concern.

"Not really." Draco made an effort to smile at him. "I knew Professor Dumbledore too. It just makes me think about bad things that happened a long time ago."

"Bad things happened to my mummy." Lorcan confided sadly.

Draco frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"I hear her talking sometimes to Grammy Mawlee or Aunt Ginny or Unca Harry." Lorcan looked up at him. "They always stop talking when they see me, but something bad happened and sometimes my mummy is sad."

"Lots of bad things happened a long time ago." Draco answered, and again, made an effort to smile. "But they're all over now, and good things will happen. Like I get to spend time with you."

"My mummy says the old books always say it came to pass because most things don't come to stay." Lorcan looked at Draco with Luna's wide eyed stare.

"That sounds like something your mummy would say." Draco shook his head, tossed some coins on the table, and took Lorcan's hand, leading him to the floo.

They went home to Malfoy Manor, landing in the room that had once been Lucius' study. Lorcan pointed to the painting above the fireplace.

"Is that your family, Draco?" the child tilted his head.

"Yeah," Draco nodded, picking him up. "That was my father, and that's my mother, and me, when I was in my fifth year at Hogwarts."

"Where are they?" Lorcan yawned and laid his head against Draco's shoulder.

"My mother is staying at our house in Italy. My father died."

"You have another house?" Lorcan frowned.

"We have a lot of houses." Draco nodded. "I don't even know where all of them are."

"Was your daddy nice?" Lorcan continued.

"Not really." Draco snorted.

"That's sad." Lorcan tightened his arms around Draco's neck. "When I get a daddy, I want him to be nice."

Draco carried Lorcan upstairs to the bedroom closest to his own, which he had asked the elves to set up as Lorcan's room.

The train table was already set up on one side of the room, and the candy they bought was on the bench at the end of the bed. All of the clothes had been put away. The bedraggled stuffed animal was on the bed.

"Snorkack!" Lorcan ran over and snatched the creature off the bed, then walked around to the bench where the candy waited.

"Draco, which one is like the Reeses?" he asked.

Draco unwrapped a piece of Charm Choc for him. A jelly slug followed that, then a sugar quill, and a Fizzing Whizbee, which made Lorcan squeal as he floated off the floor.

"Last one for tonight." Draco announced, handing Lorcan a chocolate wand. He snapped his fingers and a house elf appeared.

"Take this to the kitchen and put it up." He instructed the elf. "This is Lorcan. He's going to stay here for a few days. Lorcan, this is Dimpy. He's worked for my family for a long time."

Lorcan looked from Dimpy to Draco, wide eyed. "You hafs a house elf? Aunt Herminey won't like that."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm not mean to them. I take care of them. If they didn't stay here with me, they wouldn't have anywhere to go."

"Did their house burnded down?" Lorcan asked sadly.

"They didn't even have a house. They would have to live in the woods with bears. And hippogriffs." Draco said conspiratorially.

"That would be bad." Lorcan nodded solemnly.

Dimpy left, and Draco found Lorcan a pair of pajamas. He helped the child take off the unfamiliar dress robes. Lorcan then began to pull on his pajamas, over his Thomas the Tank Engine shirt.

"Lorcan, take that off. It's time for bed."

"Nooooooooo!" the child whined, folding his arms across his chest. "I don' want it to get burnded up!"

Draco sighed. "The house is not going to burn down."

Lorcan did not look reassured.

"Fine. You can sleep in the shirt." Draco huffed, helping him finish putting on his pajamas.

They read a Thomas book, with Lorcan reading nearly as much as Draco did.

Finally, Draco tucked the child into bed. Lorcan threw his arms around Draco's neck and hugged him and kissed his older brother's cheek. "Goodnight, Draco."

Oddly choked up, Draco hugged him back, kissing his forehead. "Goodnight, Lorcan."

Draco turned out the lights and closed the door. He went to his room, sat down in front of the fireplace and began reading The Daily Prophet.

Fifteen minutes later, he heard what sounded like giggling coming from down the hall.

He got up and tiptoed back to Lorcan's room, opening the door silently.

Lorcan and Dimpy were jumping on the bed, laughing.

"Lorcan!" he called sharply. "Dimpy! _What_ are you doing?"

"Little master was not sleeping." the elf answered. "He told Dimpy this was fun, and it is. Dimpy like the new Malfoy."

"Should have set you free with your brother." Draco muttered. "Go back downstairs so Lorcan will go to sleep."

The elf disappeared with a pop.

"Draco, I'm not tired at all." Lorcan announced. "Can we go ride your broom now?"

"No, we cannot go ride the broom now. It's after nine o'clock. You have to go to sleep." Draco huffed.

He waited as Lorcan slipped back under the covers and snuggled up with his lumpy stuffed animal. He turned and started to leave, but Lorcan's voice stopped him.

"Draco, what's a Malfoy?"

He turned back to the child. "What?"

"Dimpy called me the new Malfoy. What's a Malfoy?" the boy repeated.

"That's our family name. My name is Draco Malfoy." Draco sat on the edge of the bed.

"But my name is Lorcan Lovegood." the child frowned.

"You're really a Malfoy." Draco told him. "You're my little brother."

"How?" the little face scrunched in confusion. "I'm a kid and you're a growned up. You have the mummy and daddy in the picture downstairs and I have my mummy."

"What if I told you that my father was your father?" Draco asked.

Lorcan seemed taken aback and shook his head. "My mummy said I don' have a daddy. And I don' want a mean daddy."

Draco sighed. "Have you ever heard of adoption?"

Lorcan shook his head.

"Adoption is when you want someone to be your family, so you make them your family. I guess like your mother did with your Grammy Molly. She isn't really your family, but she and your mummy decided to be a family." He paused as Lorcan nodded, trying to judge the child's understanding. "I want you to be my brother. Will you be my brother?"

"No." Lorcan shook his head. "I want you to be my daddy and ride me on brooms."

Draco rubbed his hand over his face. "Your mummy probably doesn't want me to be your daddy."

"I'll talk to her about it." Lorcan answered as if everything were that simple.

"There's more to being a father than just riding the child around on a broom." Draco told him. "I probably wouldn't be a very good father."

"I'll teach you." Lorcan reached over and patted Draco's hand.

Draco pinched his lips together to keep from laughing. "We'll see about all that when your mummy is better. Now go to sleep."

"Draco, is my mummy getting another baby?" Lorcan asked.

"No." Draco looked at the child, mystified. "Why would you think that?"

"Because Aunt Floor went to the horsepiddle and she comed home wif Buttercup." Lorcan explained.

"There are lots of reasons for people to go to the hospital." Draco told him. "Your mummy is there because the fire burned her and she breathed too much smoke. That makes you sick. It makes you cough a lot and your chest hurt."

"Did you breathe too much smoke before Draco?" Lorcan tilted his head.

"Yes, I did." Draco nodded.

"Your house burnded down too?" the child continued.

"No, it wasn't my house. It was ... " Draco trailed off, shaking his head. "It was one of those bad things people don't like to talk about. Now go to sleep."

Lorcan laid down, so Draco again left the room and closed the door.

Half an hour later, he heard talking coming from Lorcan's room. He crept back down the hall to find the child out of bed again, this time playing with his trains.

" ... you take the freight cars down to the sea. James, you go back to the station." Lorcan rolled the red train one direction and the blue one another without looking up. "Hello Draco."

"Lorcan!" Draco barked. "I told you to go to sleep!"

"But I'm not tired." the child argued.

"I didn't ask if you were tired, I told you to go to sleep!" Draco snapped. "We already read your bedtime story! Does your mummy give you sleeping draught or something?"

Lorcan's bottom lip began to quiver and his eyes filled with tears. "I want my mummy." he wailed.

"Just stop." Draco grumbled. "Your mummy is at the hospital. She'll be home in a few days."

The child began to cry in earnest, big shuddering sobs with tears running down his face. "I wanna go home and I want my mummy."

Draco sighed, walking over to sit beside him. He tried to gather Lorcan in his lap, but the child pushed him away.

"No! I wanna go home and I want my mummy!"

"Lorcan, you can't go home. Your house burned down. And your mummy is sick. You will go back to your mummy as soon as she is better." he soothed.

"I don' wan my house to be burnded down!" the child bawled. "And I want my mummy _now!"_

Draco tried to comfort the boy, but the child kept pushing him away, and cried harder when Draco ordered him to stop crying. Finally he sighed, not knowing what else to do. He called for Dimpy to come stay with Lorcan for a minute while Draco walked down to the floo. He was not about to call anyone named Weasley or Potter. None of his friends had children.

He finally settled on calling his mother, who was not amused to be summoned downstairs at this hour. He briefly explained the situation to her.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you have officially lost your mind." she informed him. "First of all, you decide to take custody of a child you don't know when you've never even had a pet in your life, and secondly, you call me up, expecting me to help you with a child that my husband had with another woman while he was married to me!"

"Mother," he sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about that. But what do I do about Lorcan? He won't stop crying."

Narcissa softened, shaking her head. "Draco, he's three years old. He's in a strange place, with a person he barely knows, away from everyone and everything he does know. The child is terrified."

Draco nodded, sufficiently chastised.

"Take him to the Weasleys or someone else he knows well. He's still going to be upset, but it will be somewhat better if he is at least in a familiar environment or with familiar people. You may be able to calm him enough to bring him home, or you may have to let him spend the night there and get him in the morning."

"What about the fact he won't sleep?" Draco asked. "Can you give a small child sleeping draught?"

"You shouldn't have to." Narcissa frowned. "What did you feed him for dinner?"

"He ate about half my fish and chips." Draco answered, not understanding why she would ask. "Then he had some candy."

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "How much candy?"

"A lot, actually." Draco admitted.

"Between being in a strange place and being wound up on sugar, it's little wonder the child won't sleep." She folded her arms. "He's probably exhausted but can't fall asleep because of having too much candy. That would make him cranky as well. Take him to the Weasleys and give him some warm milk. He'll probably go right to sleep."

"Thank you." Draco bid her goodnight and ended the floo connection. He went to Lorcan's bedroom, where the child was still crying.

Draco was going to have to ask for help, but he would be damned if he went to the Weasleys. He told Dimpy to stay with Lorcan, and went to his bedroom to dress quickly.

He came back and gathered the struggling child into his arms. "What if I take you to see your mummy?"

Lorcan stopped fighting him and nodded pitifully. "I want to see my mummy."

Draco carried him downstairs and flooed the two of them to St Mungo's. He walked up to the reception desk and asked the witch for Luna's room number.

"Three twelve." she informed him. "But visiting hours ended at eight."

"Good to know. Thank you." Draco nodded and headed for the lift.

"Sir, you can't go up there." she hurried out from behind the desk.

"This child," he inclined his head at Lorcan. "Needs to see his mummy."

"He can see her in the morning." the witch proposed. "But visiting hours are over for the night."

"Then we won't visit anyone else." Draco assured her. "But he is going to see his mummy."

Lorcan cried harder.

"Sir, if you don't leave, I'll have to call the Aurors." the witch folded her arms.

"Fine, call them." Draco shrugged. "Would you like Harry Potter's home floo address?" He carried Lorcan over and pressed the button for the lift. "When he gets here, send him to room three twelve."

Draco stepped into the elevator and held his breath until the door closed behind him. Apparently the witch didn't do anything to try to stop him, because the lift shuddered and began to rumble upward.

They found Luna's room, and Draco pushed open the door. She slept in the bed, barely illuminated by the light coming in from the hallway.

"Mummy!" Lorcan shrieked.

She bolted upright on the bed. "Lorcan?"

Draco carried the child to the bedside. Luna held out her bandaged arms, so Draco placed Lorcan on the bed beside her. Her son threw her arms around her neck and snuggled against her.

"I love you Mummy. I wan'ed to see you."

"I love you too, Lorcan." she smoothed his hair. "Where is Grammy Molly?"

"She's at her house." Lorcan mumbled against Luna's neck. "I'm staying at Draco's house. He bought me a new Thomas shirt and a train table like Teddy's and candy. And I like fish and chips. It doesn' taste like plimpy soup."

"That's good, sweetheart." she laid down on the bed, cradling Lorcan beside her. "I hope you told Draco thank you for everything."

She gave Draco a look that made him very uncomfortable.

Lorcan yawned. "Thank you, Draco." He burrowed down into the covers, his head on his mother's shoulder and his eyes starting to droop closed.

Within minutes, Lorcan was asleep in Luna's arms.

"You think you've won, don't you?" She asked Draco.


	8. Chapter 7

"What do you mean, I think I've won?" Draco frowned.

"You've taken Lorcan from the Weasleys. How did you do that, by the way, because I know they didn't hand him over voluntarily." Luna asked.

"I got a court order." he admitted. "But I just wanted him to be taken care of, to be with his family."

"Draco, as far as he's concerned, they are _his_ family." She sighed. "You're the one who's a stranger."

"It shouldn't be that way!" Draco cried, and then held his breath as Lorcan made a face and shifted in his sleep. "I'm his brother. Not them." He continued at a lower volume.

Realization crossed her face. "You told him, didn't you?"

"Not exactly." Draco shoved his hand through his hair.

"What do you mean, not exactly?" she pierced him with a look.

"I told him that he was my brother." Draco sighed. "But he didn't understand, so I dropped it."

"How could you, Draco?" she shook her head. "Don't you think that was something that his mother should explain to him, in my own way, _if_ I chose to do so?"

"I'm sorry," he flushed. "I didn't think ... "

"Actually, Draco, you did think." She interrupted. "You thought about doing what you wanted, just like you have always done. You didn't think about how your actions were going to affect other people. You didn't think about how other people would feel about this."

"I'm trying to take care of him!" Draco bristled. "You're so determined not to let me!"

"Is everything all right in here?" a voice asked from the doorway.

Draco put his hand over his face and shook his head. The bint downstairs did call Harry Potter.

"Lorcan was crying and wanting his mummy, so I brought him to see her." Draco explained. "The woman at the front desk carried on about visiting hours, but did she not understand the child wanted his mother?"

Potter stood beside the bed and looked from Draco, to Luna, to Lorcan, asleep at his mother's side.

"So you just brought him to his mum?" Potter repeated.

"Yes." Draco nearly growled.

"Luna, is there a problem?" Potter asked her, cutting his eyes toward Draco.

"I don't mind that he brought Lorcan to see me." She answered, looking at Draco. "But if Lorcan had been with Molly, I'm sure she could have calmed him without having to bring him here."

Potter sighed. "Luna, Malfoy has a court order giving him custody of Lorcan until you get out of the hospital. I can't return him to the Weasleys right now. But if you feel Lorcan is not being properly cared for in Malfoy's custody, I can take Lorcan into Auror protection until you're released."

Luna stroked her son's hair.

Draco held his breath.

"No, I think Draco is trying to care for him. But I don't think Draco understands that taking care of someone means putting their needs and wants ahead of your own." She answered softly, not looking at either of the men. "And I think Lorcan would be rather frightened to be uprooted again. But," she finally turned her attention to Draco. "He is not to be told anything else about being part of your family."

"I won't. I swear." Draco promised. "And I'm just keeping him until you're able to care for him. It's not like I'm trying to take him away from you."

"I'll do whatever I have to do to protect my child." Luna informed him without blinking.

"You don't have to protect him from me." Draco vowed.

"Come on then, Malfoy." Potter nodded toward the door. "You've disturbed the hospital enough for one night, and Luna needs her rest."

Draco nodded. Luna pressed a kiss to her son's cheek before Draco lifted the boneless child into his arms. Lorcan barely stirred.

"I promise I'll take good care of him." Draco told Luna.

She nodded.

Potter escorted Draco and Lorcan to the lift, and then walked them downstairs to the floo.

"Malfoy," Potter sighed as the lift door closed behind them.

"Just spit it out, Potter." Draco grumbled after a moment's silence.

Potter shook his head, but finally spoke. " I know we've never been friends, but I'm telling you this, because I really do believe that you've changed since we were in school, and I believe you are trying to do the right thing for Lorcan. You have to understand something. Luna is used to taking care of Lorcan by herself. It's just been the two of them all of his life. They're all each other has. For you to come in and try to make yourself a significant part of his life all at once is going to be very frightening to her. The harder you push, the more she's going to resist."

"I'm not trying to take him away from her!" Draco rolled his eyes. "She's a good mother, from everything I've seen. But he's a Malfoy, and he should live by certain standards. He should not have to eat fish soup that he hates because his mother can't afford anything else, for instance. He shouldn't have to wear muggle hand me down clothes, for another."

"And you always wanted a brother, and you feel guilty about what happened to Luna in your house, so you've taken her and Lorcan on as some kind of mission in life." Potter observed.

"Whatever you say, Chosen One." Draco replied sarcastically.

"Just remember what I said." Potter turned to him as the lift doors opened. "To turn a muggle phrase, you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

Potter nodded toward the floo, as he broke off in the other direction to speak to the receptionist.

* * *

Draco flooed home with Lorcan, who barely stirred while Draco carried him upstairs and tucked him into bed.

Exhausted, Draco barely took time to wash his face and hands before donning his own pajamas and climbing into bed. He fell asleep straightaway, only to be awakened two hours later by a frightened child's shriek.

"Draco!"

He rushed down the hall to find Lorcan huddled in the middle of the big bed, clutching his stuffed animal. The child appeared terrified of something.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked sleepily.

"There's something scary in there." the child pointed at the closet door.

Draco walked over and opened the door, looking inside.

"Lorcan, there's nothing in there. Well, nothing that shouldn't be. Your clothes are in there." He pointed out.

"It's hiding from you." Lorcan whispered.

"Then what do I do about that?" Draco asked, yawning.

"Can I sleep wif you?" Lorcan's bottom lip trembled.

Draco held out his arms, and Lorcan bounded into them. He carried the boy down the hall and laid him on the bed, laying down beside him.

"Now go the fuck to sleep." Draco ordered.

Lorcan smiled, snuggled down into the bed, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Draco drifted into consciousness the next morning vaguely aware of being cold.

He then realized he was also wet.

"Lorcan!" He groaned, startling the child who was still asleep. "I thought you said you didn't wet the bed!"

The boy blinked and then started to cry.

"I'm sorry, Draco." he blubbered. "I don't wet the bed. I'm a big boy."

"Well, you certainly wet the bed this time." Draco huffed. "Dimpy!"

The elf popped into the room.

"Clean him up and ... " Draco gestured at the bed. "Fix this!"

He stomped into the bathroom, took a shower, and then realized he hadn't brought clean clothes or asked the elf to lay some out. He wrapped himself in a towel and stomped out of the bathroom to the closet. He selected an outfit, and then levitated it out into the bedroom.

Dimpy had apparently already bathed the child and had him sitting on the carpet with a book while the elf changed the bed linens.

Lorcan looked up at Draco, froze in terror, and then dove under the bed.

"Lorcan, whatever this game is, I don't have time for it." Draco grumbled.

"Go 'way! I want my mummy!" came a wail from under the bed.

Draco got on his hands and knees, casting a lumos under the bed.

Lorcan was nearly under the center of the king sized bed, sobbing.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you about wetting the bed." Draco sighed. "Now will you please come out?"

"No," the child answered. "Don't hurt me. I wan my mummy!"

"I'm not going to hurt you." Draco promised. "Why don't you come out and we'll have breakfast?"

He reached under the bed, causing Lorcan to shriek and scoot away.

"No! You're a bad man!" the boy whimpered.

Draco stood, shook his head, and dressed. He and Dimpy then spent nearly fifteen minutes trying unsuccessfully to coax a little boy out from under the bed. Finally Draco stood, ordered the elf to watch the child, and went downstairs to the floo.

His mother was even less pleased about being awakened before her usual hour.

"He wet the bed, after he specifically told me that he did _not_ wet the bed, so I raised my voice at him, and now he's crying under the bed and won't come out!" Draco complained.

"Did you make him use the restroom before you put him to bed?" Narcissa arched an eyebrow.

"No." Draco frowned. "You didn't tell me I was supposed to."

"Do you not remember when you were little and I always sent you to the bathroom before bed?" She sighed.

"Oh." Draco answered. "Is there not a set of instructions as to how to take care of little boys?"

Narcissa laughed. "No, there isn't. And the older they get, the more illogical they become."

"How do I get him out from under the bed?" Draco asked.

"Apologize to him for shouting." she suggested.

"I did that. He's still screaming and crying and he called me a bad man and says he wants his mummy." Draco huffed.

Narcissa frowned. "You've frightened him somehow. What did you do to him?"

"How should I know?" Draco threw up his hands.

"Again, I offer the same advice: call someone the child knows. Molly Weasley should be able to draw him out." Narcissa shrugged.

"I am not calling a bloody Weasley!" Draco snapped.

"All right, you're the one who's stuck with a crying child under his bed." Narcissa disconnected the call.

Draco sat there for a full minute before he tossed a handful of powder into the floo and called out "Grimmauld Place!"

The same old grumpy house elf that had belonged to his cousins for years greeted Draco and informed him that Master Harry had already left for work. Draco then called the Auror office, to find that Potter had not arrived yet.

Draco informed Longbottom that he needed to speak with Potter, only Potter, about a very serious and urgent matter. The other Auror argued with Draco, insisting that there was nothing Potter could do for him that Longbottom couldn't.

"I do not have time, nor am I in the fucking mood to deal with you at the moment!" Draco shouted at the green flames. "Tell Potter to call me the moment he walks in or I'll ... "

"I'm here, Malfoy." came a voice from over Longbottom's shoulder.

"I need you to step through." Draco sighed.

"What's happened?" Potter asked. "Do I need to bring backup? Has something happened to Lorcan? Did you ... "

"Just shut up and come through!" Draco demanded. "I'll tell you when you get here."

"Harry, department regulation strictly ... "

Potter peered through the flames at Draco, and then held his hand up to cut off Longbottom. "It's fine. If I'm not back in half an hour, come after me."

Draco stood back as Potter stepped through the floo.

Draco briefly explained what happened. "I have no idea why he's so frightened. I didn't fuss at him that much."

"Show me." Potter instructed.

Draco led him upstairs to the bedroom, where faint cries could be heard from under the bed.

"Lorcan?" Potter spoke softly and gently. "It's Uncle Harry. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"Is it really you?" a tiny voice asked.

"It's really me." Potter nodded, even though the child couldn't see him. "Why are you hiding under the bed?"

"Draco is a bad man." was the answer.

"Why is Draco a bad man?" Potter continued.

"He has the bad man picture." Lorcan's voice was slightly less wavering.

Draco started to open his mouth, but Potter shook his head.

"What bad man picture, Lorcan?" Potter asked, kneeling by the bed.

"The snake and the scary head on his arm." came the reply.

"You showed him your Dark Mark?" Potter looked at Draco as if the blond had lost his mind.

"Not intentionally!" Draco defended. "I had just gotten out of the shower and I didn't have a shirt on."

He intentionally neglected to mention that he wasn't wearing trousers either, not wanting to be arrested for indecent exposure in his own bloody house.

"Lorcan," Draco said softly, kneeling by the bed again. "I'm not one of the bad men. Voldemort, do you know who Voldemort was?"

"Yes sir." Lorcan answered.

"Voldemort wanted me to be one of the bad men, but I didn't want to. I wasn't even a man yet. I was still a boy in school. But he wanted me to be a bad man so he put the mark on my arm. I didn't want him to."

"Did you cry?" Lorcan asked, sounding a little closer.

"Yes." Draco admitted with a glance at Potter.

"It's true, Lorcan." Potter confirmed. "Draco was not really one of the bad men. You don't have to be afraid of him."

The child crawled out from under the bed, still clutching his stuffed animal, and looked from one man to the other.

"I'm hungry." He announced.

"Elves have breakfast ready downstairs." Dimpy informed them.

"Potter, I would invite you to stay, but I'm afraid Longbottom would send the cavalry." Draco groaned, picking up Lorcan.

"I'm a big boy. I can walk!" Lorcan protested, shoving at Draco's chest.

Draco returned him to the floor and led them all downstairs.

"As interesting as I believe this would be, I unfortunately have to get back to work." Potter shrugged. "Goodbye, Lorcan." He bent and kissed the child on the cheek. "Malfoy." He nodded in farewell as he stepped into the floo.

* * *

Draco and Lorcan were still at the table when Mimsy, one of the other house elves, came to announce a visitor, a Miss Daphne Greengrass.

Draco told Lorcan to finish eating, Dimpy to stay with the child, and Mimsy to show the visitor into his mother's parlour.

"Daphne," he greeted, walking up behind the young woman. "To what do I owe the pleasure ... "

His words stopped abruptly as his guest whirled around and slapped him across the face.

"You son of a bitch!" She hissed. "At least now maybe my parents will believe me when I tell them you're not a good match for Astoria."

"What are you on about?" he asked incredulously, raising a hand to his stinging cheek.

"Don't play innocent with me." She spat. "I know how you are. Or have you forgotten?"

"Well, maybe I don't know how I am!" he growled. "Would you care to enlighten me?"

"I always knew you didn't have it in you to be faithful to anyone." She glared at him. "But you couldn't even wait until you were married to parade your illegitimate child around Diagon Alley and make my sister look like a fool?"

"Wait, what?" Draco shook his head.

"You're engaged to my sister, or have you forgotten?" She snapped. "Everyone is talking about you and your son in Diagon Alley yesterday, that you dropped ten thousand galleons on him."

"Okay, first of all, no I have not forgotten that I am engaged to your sister, or the fact that until just recently, she wasn't old enough to get married. Oh, the joys of pureblood arranged marriages. I guess I should be grateful that my parents didn't betroth me to Amelie Warrington. What is she, about ten?" He angrily shoved his hair from his face. "Secondly, that was not my son. And third, I only spent about a thousand galleons, not that it's any of your business anyway."

"Oh please, Draco," she made a face of disbelief. "Everyone said he looked just like you. You and I both know that you could charm the pants off any witch. Did this one trap you, or did you just forget the contraceptive spell with her?"

"He is not my son!" Draco insisted. "I wish you would just let go of what happened between us fifth year and move on!"

"I lost my virginity to you on the billiards table at the Goyles' Christmas ball, and by the time we got back to Hogwarts in the new year, you acted like nothing had happened!" her voice was slightly below a shriek.

Draco silenced the door. "Yes, you did, and haven't we beaten this dead horse into thestral food by now? I was sixteen and I acted like an ass! Life goes on and so should you!"

"You were engaged to my sister!" She cried. "You were engaged to my sister, and dating Pansy at the time! You took advantage of me after I had some wine, and then you threw me aside! All while you were engaged to my sister!"

"In case it escaped your notice, I wasn't exactly sober, either." He snorted. "If I had been, I would have picked a better place than a billiards table. Pansy wasn't there. It's not like there was any point trying to make any romantic drama out of it because we both knew we were never going to end up together anyway! And if I had shagged your sister that night, everyone would have been really upset, because she was only eleven at the time!"

"So then you moved on to shag yet another girl, and had a baby with her!" Daphne accused.

"No, I did not." Draco replied with exaggerated patience. "I told you, he is not my son."

"Well then, where did you get a child?" She raised her chin and folded her arms.

"I'm taking care of him while his mother is in the hospital." Draco folded his own arms.

"Who is his mother?" she demanded.

"Luna Lovegood." Draco sighed.

"Loony Lovegood's child?" Daphne was back to screeching again. "You never said a kind word to her all the way through Hogwarts, and now you're voluntarily taking care of her child?"

Draco opened his mouth to answer but was cut off before he could say a word.

"Merlin. She was prisoner here during the war." Daphne raised a horrified expression to him. "You kept her here as your own personal little whore, didn't you? We were all worried about how dangerous it was for you being here in a den full of Death Eaters, while you're locked in your room shagging the nargle queen!"

She pulled her hand back to slap him again, but Draco caught her wrist in mid-air, and cast a secrecy spell on her so she couldn't repeat what he was about to tell her.

"It wasn't like that." He told her. "Luna was raped by several of the Death Eaters. One of them was the child's father."

"Then why are you suddenly taking an interest in a Death Eater whore's child?" Daphne spat.

"Because he is my father's child." Draco told her softly. "I found out when my father died."

"Oh, please." she sniffed. "That's so convenient, isn't it? Blame a dead man for your bastard. He can't contradict you, can he?"

"Daphne ... " Draco warned.

"So how did you end up in Luna Lovegood's knickers?" Daphne smirked. "Did you promise her happily ever after? Or did you just promise to protect her from the Death Eaters? Or did you ... "

"Get out of my house." Draco hissed, pointing toward the door.

"Oh, so you get touchy about her?" She was baiting him, and Draco knew it.

"What if I do? Are you disappointed that I don't get touchy about you?" He arched an eyebrow. "Why don't you just go ahead and ask straightaway, Daphne? We both know you want to. Ask me if Luna Lovegood was a better fuck than you."

Daphne's eyes widened and her nostrils flared.

"Go on, I'm waiting." Draco taunted.

She whirled and fled the room without a word.

Draco sighed, shoved his hand through his hair, and wondered how much trouble this was going to cause.


	9. Chapter 8

"So, Lorcan," Draco walked back into the dining room with a fake smile. "What are we going to do today?"

Lorcan frowned. "Did you fall down?"

"What?" Draco asked, automatically raising his hand to his reddened cheek.

"You hurt your face." Lorcan informed him solemnly. "Did you bump into something?"

"I was jumping on the bed and fell off." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Someone came over to jump on the bed?" Lorcan's frown deepened.

"What?" Draco shook his head.

"The elf said you had a visitor, and you went out, and then you came back with a boo-boo and you said … "Lorcan began to explain.

"No, just forget it." Draco sighed. "I was being facetious."

"What's fa – sheesh – us?" Lorcan asked.

"When you finish your pancakes we can go fly the broom." Draco said to distract him.

"Yes!" the child shouted, and then attempted to stuff a whole pancake in his mouth.

"But not if you make yourself throw up!" Draco warned. "I've had enough bodily fluids today."

Lorcan nodded and slowed on the shoveling food into his face.

Despite having lost his appetite after the confrontation with Daphne, Draco sat back down at the table so Lorcan wouldn't rush.

"Draco, if I hold on tight can we fly high?" the boy asked around a mouthful of food.

Draco froze as the realization washed over him. He had agreed to take a child who had darted away from him on the ground up onto a broom. He forced himself to breathe slowly and smile.

"You have to show me that you will hold on before I take you up high." He raised an eyebrow at the child. "Your mummy will be very angry with me if you get hurt. Your Uncle Harry would probably arrest me."

Lorcan shook his head. "Unca Harry only 'rests bad men."

"If I let you get hurt, he would think I was a bad man." Draco answered drolly. "Finish eating. I need to get something upstairs."

He called for Dimpy to stay with Lorcan and left the room, wondering if there were still of the old horse harnesses in the stable, and if so, whether they could be modified to hold a child onto a broom. Draco then had the realization that if the kid were to make a sudden movement, he could unseat Draco.

He finally decided that his bathrobe belt would be the best solution. It would keep the two of them together, if anything were to happen, giving Draco a better chance to be able to save both of them.

He came back downstairs, where Lorcan had finished all but a few bites of his pancakes.

"Are you going to be able to eat all that?" Draco asked, nodding at his plate.

Lorcan looked up wide eyed.

"It's all right if you can't eat those last few bites. That was a lot of pancakes and you did eat all your bacon." Draco assured him.

Lorcan smiled in relief. "Then we can go now, Draco?"

"Let's go." Draco nodded.

Lorcan bounded out of his chair and practically ran to Draco's side.

"You're putting this on." Draco pulled a jumper over the child's head. "It can be a bit chilly up in the air."

He led Lorcan out the side door, where he had instructed one of the elves to bring his mother's old broom. He wasn't willing to risk riding his racing broom until he saw how Lorcan handled himself.

Draco showed Lorcan how to levitate the broom, then climbed on, lifting Lorcan to sit in front of him. He then looped the bathrobe belt around Lorcan's waist, tying the child securely to Draco's middle.

"This is to make sure you don't fall off." Draco informed him.

"I won't falled off." Lorcan shook his head solemnly. "I will hold on really good."

They flew a few lazy circles around the Manor grounds. Lorcan obediently held onto the broom and sat still.

"Ready to go a little faster?" Draco asked.

Lorcan nodded vigorously.

Draco took him a little faster, and a little higher, making a pass across the Manor grounds before increasing the speed and altitude slightly each time.

After the first two increases, Lorcan laughed and begged. "Faster, Draco! Higher!"

"All right, but you have to hold on." Draco cautioned.

"I'm holding on!" Lorcan promised. "Both hands. Very tight."

"I see." Draco praised, obligingly picking up speed slightly.

They flew for more than two hours, with Lorcan eventually asking quite a few questions about the area they were flying over. He was amazed that Draco owned all of the land, and at how big the house actually was.

Finally, Draco wrapped an arm around Lorcan and whispered in his ear to hold on. The child wrapped both of his arms around Draco's and pressed himself backwards into Draco's chest.

Draco leaned forward, kicking them into as fast of a sprint as he dared with Lorcan on the broom, which was considerably slower than if he had been alone, whipping them into a quick turn at the boundary of the property and executing a shallow dive before bringing them down gracefully on the lawn.

Lorcan was bouncing and laughing as Draco stopped the broom.

"How was that?" Draco asked the child.

"That was the best ever!" Lorcan shouted, tugging at the belt. "Untie me quick Draco."

Draco untied him and Lorcan ran toward the house.

"Where are you going?" Draco called after him.

"I gotta go bafroom!" the boy yelled back.

Draco handed the broom to Dimpy and followed after to wait outside the door.

When the door opened, Lorcan leaped out and wrapped his arms around Draco's legs. "Thank you Draco! You're the best daddy!"

The unfamiliar warmth in Draco's chest that began when Lorcan first hugged him was quickly replaced by a sharp coldness. He reached down and pried Lorcan off, then knelt to face the child.

"Lorcan, I'm not your daddy." He said gently.

"But you will be, because I'm teaching you." the child answered, as if things were just that simple.

Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair, wondering how to address this, when one of the house elves approached.

"Owl come for Master Draco while flying." She handed him an envelope and walked away.

He frowned, flipping it over in his hands to see unfamiliar handwriting. He turned it again, and recognized the St Mungo's seal in the wax. He opened the envelope, finding both a letter and a smaller envelope addressed to Lorcan.

"Here." He handed the second letter to the child. "Your mummy wrote to you."

"Really?" Lorcan tugged at the envelope, tearing it slightly in the process.

Draco unfolded his own letter and began to read.

_Dear Draco,_

_Thank you for your generous assistance in taking care of Lorcan while I am unable to do so. I have written him a letter as well. Please make sure it won't be upsetting to him before you give it to him._

Oops. Draco looked down at Lorcan who was smiling and mouthing the words as he read, so apparently the child was all right with things, at least for the moment.

_If it isn't too much trouble, could you please bring him by the hospital to visit? He and I have never been apart from one another overnight before, and I miss him terribly. I hope he isn't giving you too much trouble. He can be a handful at times, but he is generally a very good child. _

_Thank you again for what you've done._

_Luna_

"Can we go see my mummy?" Lorcan asked shyly.

Draco again knelt in front of the child. "Do you miss your mummy?"

Lorcan nodded. "Lots and lots."

"All right then, we will go to see her. And then maybe we will go to lunch. How about that?"

Lorcan grinned. "Can we have fish and chips again?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "We will see about that."

Lorcan's face suddenly fell.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

"I was gonna make my mummy a picture but my crayons got burnded up." The boy's bottom lip poked out. "Do you have crayons, Draco?"

"No, but maybe we can pick some up later."Draco offered. "Then you can draw your mummy a picture and take it to her next time we go."

The child nodded.

"I was very good on the broom, Draco." Lorcan said in his solemn tone. "I holded on tight and I didn't lean and I did zackly what you said."

"Yes, you did." Draco praised.

"Will you tell my mummy?" Lorcan asked with a hint of a gleam in his eyes.

"Why do you want me to tell your mummy?" Draco questioned.

"So she will let you get me a broom." Lorcan rolled his eyes as if to tell Draco he was an idiot.

"I'll talk to her about it." Draco promised.

Dimpy took Lorcan to wash up and change clothes while Draco did the same.

They met back in the parlour and took the floo connection to St Mungo's. Luna was sitting up in bed, writing something.

"Mummy!" Lorcan shrieked, and bounded across the room. He jumped onto the bed and climbed into Luna's lap. "I love you, Mummy. I want you to come home. I'm at Draco's house. It hafs a bathtub as big as the pond. Can we stay there? Draco is my daddy now."

Luna's head whipped around to look at the other occupant of the room, who threw his hands up in surprised defense. "I didn't tell him that. He came up with that." Draco insisted, shaking his head, wide eyed.

"Why is Draco your daddy now?" Luna asked her son.

"'Cause he takes care of me. He got me new clothes and took me flying on his broom and he tied me up so I would be safe and he makes me eat all my food." Lorcan explained.

"You tied him up?" She raised an eyebrow.

Draco gestured with his hands. "I tied us together around the waist so he wouldn't fall off the broom. I mean, he ran off from me in Diag ... " He trailed off, realizing this was sounding worse by the minute.

"I just went to Mr. Odd-uh-vander." Lorcan told his mother contritely. "Draco didn't know we were s'posed to go there. I didn't really runned off. And I was very good on the broom. I holded on tight and did zackly what Draco said." He nodded his head, wide eyed.

"He was very good on the broom." Draco agreed.

"What about the rest of the time?" Luna continued.

"He's been a good boy, for the most part." Draco shrugged. "He gave me a fright running off to Ollivander's and he had a bit of trouble going to sleep last night, but he's behaved very well, especially under the circumstances."

"We should keep Draco, Mummy, 'cause he matches." Lorcan informed her in a loud whisper.

"What do you mean, he matches?" She asked.

"He hafs hair like us and eyes like us. He matches us, like the Weasleys match." Lorcan explained as if the adults were abnormally thick.

"I suppose he does match." Luna smiled with a glance over at Draco, who was also somewhat amused. "But you can't choose to keep someone just because they look like you."

"But Draco wants me to keep him. He said he wanted me to be his family." Lorcan pleaded.

"It's not that simple, love." She kissed her son's forehead. "Draco and I will have to talk about things more."

"And talk about him buying me a broom, too." Lorcan instructed.

Draco laughed.

Luna gave her son a stern look. "You are not to ask people to buy things for you."

"Draco said I can hafs whatever I want when I'm with him. He bought me _three_ Thomas shirts." Lorcan held up three fingers to make his point. "And aaaaaaaaaall the candy I wanted."

"Draco and I will have to talk about that." She looked between the two of them.

Draco dipped his head, feeling somewhat like a scolded child.

Molly Weasley came in the door at the moment.

"Grammy Mawlee!" Lorcan shouted, running across the room for a hug.

The older woman scooped him up and kissed his cheek, apparently realizing that she had walked into a somewhat tense situation.

"Hello, Luna, Mr. Malfoy." She nodded. "Lorcan, I bet the mediwitches don't make tea the way your mummy likes it. Why don't you come to the tea room with me and we'll get her a nice cup of tea."

"Can we get some chocolate milk?" Lorcan asked.

"If they have some." Mrs. Weasley promised, leading the child out of the room and closing the door behind.

"Draco," Luna sighed. "You're not doing the best thing for Lorcan buying him all these gifts. I know it's all you know, but I don't want him to grow up to be a materialistic person. And it's going to be hard for him if you buy him everything he sees, and then he comes back home with me, where I can't afford to spoil him like that."

Draco frowned. "He's a Malfoy. He should have nice things. I don't understand why you won't let me give them to him, or why you won't take money from me for his care."

"I still worry about what's going to happen to Lorcan when the novelty wears off." Luna told him. "He's going to be terribly hurt when you cast him aside."

"I wouldn't do that." Draco protested.

"Your proper, pureblood society wife won't mind you spending time with a blood traitor's illegitimate child?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

Draco's forehead wrinkled as he considered her words. "I don't know how it's all going to work out, but I want Lorcan in my life." He said finally.

"Have you told your fiancee about him?" Luna questioned.

"No," Draco shook his head. "But it shouldn't be a problem. We're not getting married any time soon. Not until spring or later. I'll just give her some extra spending money and send her off to the continent for the weekend sometimes so I can spend time with Lorcan."

"Draco, keeping two separate lives isn't going to be a good solution for anyone." she answered.

"Well then, she will just have to learn to accept that Lorcan will be around sometimes." he replied stubbornly. "Now, have you considered where you and Lorcan are going to live when you're released?"

She looked down at her hands. "The Weasleys have offered to let us stay with them, and Harry has offered a room for as long as we need. We had a small insurance policy on the house. It won't be enough to buy a new one, but hopefully it will get us a place to stay so I can get back to writing."

"Don't be ridiculous." he dismissed. "You'll stay at the Manor until we find you something else. I'll buy it for you. Consider it three years' worth of child support."

"Draco, no," she shook her head. "You will not buy us a house. And I will only stay in the Manor on one condition. You hire me as an employee, and let me stay with Lorcan in one of the servants' quarters."

"Absolutely not!" he protested. "If anything were to happen to me, at the moment, your son is the Malfoy heir. The Malfoy heir will not live in the servant quarters. And his mother will not be a servant."

Luna shrugged with a hint of a smile on her lips. "It's probably happened over the course of the past thousand years. That the rightful Malfoy heir was the child of a servant."

He looked scandalized. "Even if it did, it will not happen now!"

"Draco," she began.

"Luna, look. Just stay at the Manor for now. It's big enough you could have your own wing and not even have to see me."

"Mummy, please!" Lorcan ran across the room, spilling chocolate milk from a cup whose lid wasn't on quite right. 'Please let's live wif Draco and he can be my daddy!"

She was saved from having to answer by a mediwitch arriving with a lunch tray. "Here you go, love. Soup, a nice soft roll, cottage cheese, and caramel custard." She rolled the over bed table into place and put Luna's lunch on it, then bustled out of the room.

Lorcan climbed up onto the bed to inspect her food.

"They're all things that won't hurt my throat." she explained.

"I'm hungry." the child announced.

"Kiss Mummy goodbye." Draco instructed. "We will let her eat her lunch, and I'll take you to get something."

"Can we have fish and chips?" Lorcan asked, his eyes alight.

"I suppose." Draco shrugged.

"Yes!" Lorcan kissed his mother and bounded off the bed.

"This isn't over." Luna said softly as Draco was dragged toward the door.

"I'm sure it isn't." he called back.

* * *

Deciding the two of them were already the subject of enough gossip, Draco cast a Notice Me Not charm over himself and Lorcan before they stepped into the floo to go to Curran's Cafe.

When they stepped out on the other side, Lorcan tugged on his hand and pointed at the aquarium. "Can we sit by the fish box?" he asked excitedly.

Draco turned to answer him, and a moment later realized the charm had worked very well. A young woman crossing the room walked right into them.

"Pardon me. I'm so sor ... " She trailed off in stunned surprise as she looked up and realized who she had bumped into.

"Astoria," he breathed.

'He ... hello, Draco," she stammered, taking a step backwards.

A small sound drew her attention, and she looked down at the source. Her blue eyes widened even further. "Oh, um, your son is very handso ... " she began, a flush staining her cheeks.

Draco automatically interrupted to correct her. "He's not my ... "

He then found himself interrupted, at one of those moments when somehow, a perfect silence descended on the crowded room that chattered noisily just a moment ago. In a piping voice that carried quite clearly that only small children seem to have, Lorcan asked "Daddy, who's that lady?"

It seemed every head in the restaurant turned toward them, including, Draco noticed from the corner of his eye, Potter, Granger, and the two youngest Weasleys, sitting in a corner booth.

Draco took Astoria's hand and tugged her back toward the alcove leading to the loos, away from the stares of the curious onlookers. Before he could think of an answer to give Lorcan, another question occurred to him.

"Astoria, why aren't you at school? Term started over a week ago." He frowned.

She shrugged, her face carefully conformed into a pleasant but non-committal look. "We were supposed to get married next month. My parents did not enroll me for my seventh year because they thought I would have too much to do with getting ready for the wedding. After the wedding was postponed, they still didn't send me, because they said a trophy wife doesn't need to be intelligent."

Draco's brows came together in indignation. "We have several things we need to talk about. Can you come to the Manor this evening?"

Her eyes darted back to Lorcan for a moment before she answered.

"No," she shook her head. "My parents are hosting a dinner party, looking for new potential matches for Daphne. I have to be there. Perhaps tomorrow for lunch?"

"Fine." Draco nodded. "Please be there. I will make sure there is a chaperone."

She nodded with one last glance at Lorcan. "I will be there. Have a pleasant day, Draco."

She turned and headed into the ladies' room.

Draco sighed. "Lorcan, do you really want fish and chips?"

"Yes." Lorcan nodded, looking at Draco as if there were something wrong with the man.

Draco sighed again, rubbing his hand over his face, and renewed the Notice Me Not charm. They sat by the aquarium, where Lorcan was mostly too distracted by the fish to eat.

"You didn't answer me, Daddy." Lorcan said halfway through the meal. "Who was that lady?"

"Why are you calling me that?" Draco snapped. "I'm not your daddy."

"I want you to be my daddy." Lorcan tilted his head. "And you want me to be your family, but I can't be your brother because I'm a boy and you're a grown up."

Draco rubbed a hand across his face. "That is the lady I am going to marry."

"No!" Lorcan shouted, leaping to stand on his seat in the booth. "I don't want you to marry her! I want you to marry my mummy and be my daddy."

Everyone at the tables around them was watching them again.

"Come on, Lorcan." Draco stood. "You're not going to eat anyway, so let's just go home."

"Can I take my food?" the child sat back down.

"What?" Draco frowned.

"The lady puts your food in a box so you can take it home and eat later." Lorcan explained.

"I'd be glad to do that for your son." the waitress seemed to materialize out of thin air and smiled sweetly.

"Shove the fawning." Draco snorted. "You'll still get a tip."

She looked at Draco oddly, but took Lorcan's plate and returned with the food packed neatly in a takeaway box. Draco took the box in one hand and Lorcan's hand in the other, leading him to the floo.

Amazingly, the boy was suddenly hungry the moment they arrived in Malfoy Manor, or more precisely, since there was no longer an aquarium to keep him occupied. Dimpy ended up putting the food right back on a plate for him, despite Lorcan's protests that he could eat out of the box. The child was yawning by the time he finished his lunch.

Draco carried him upstairs so he could take a nap.

"Draco, please don't marry that lady." Lorcan asked sadly. "Please marry my mummy and keep us and be my daddy."

The man sighed. "Lorcan, it's not that simple. I have to marry Astoria. It was arranged for me to marry her when we were both children. Secondly, your mum doesn't want to marry me. She may not want to marry anyone."

"I'll talk to her." Lorcan nodded, yawning. "I'll tell her to marry you."

"Lorcan, I have to marry Astoria." Draco repeated.

"Maybe she doesn't want to marry you." Lorcan suggested.

"It doesn't matter." Draco told him, pulling up the covers and handing him the lumpy stuffed animal.

"It should be the only thing that matters." Lorcan snuggled into the bed. "I love you, Draco."

Draco's throat felt oddly tight. "I love you too, Lorcan."

The child pulled the stuffed animal against his chest. "I miss my other toys. Did they all get burnded up?"

"I'll check for you." Draco promised.

He walked to the door slowly, watching for any sign that the child was going to jump out of bed, but Lorcan's eyes drifted closed by the time Draco left the room.

Dimpy met Draco on the stairs to tell him that Narcissa was calling on the floo. He went to the parlour to take her call.

"Well, the house is still standing." She observed dryly. "That's a good sign."

"We're getting on fairly well, Mother." Draco rolled his eyes and explained to her why Lorcan had called him a bad man.

"How well do you know Astoria Greengrass?" he asked his mother.

Her eyes narrowed instantly. "What are you on about, Draco? You can't be thinking of trying to back out of this marriage ... "

"No," he assured her, shaking his head. "I just ... I need to talk to her about Lorcan. I need to tell her who he is and that he is going to be around some, and I just wondered how she would take it."

"There are some questions you need to ask yourself before you talk to her." his mother cautioned. "How long are you going to keep the child and his mother around? For a few weeks? A few months? Until you have a child of your own? Who are you going to tell the truth?" She sighed. "And the biggest question - why are you doing this? Do you feel guilty about what happened to his mother? Are you trying to atone for your father's sins, and if so, why? Or are you just trying to replace Augustus?"

Draco recoiled in shock. "I'm not ... I mean, I didn't even know him. How could I replace him?"

"You were very excited about having a brother. You were heartbroken when we lost him. And you were further disappointed that you never had another chance to have a sibling. Not until now." She shook her head. "Just something for you to think about, Draco."

She signed off a few moments later, and Draco wasn't sure if he had said anything else.

Instructing Dimpy to keep an eye on Lorcan, Draco walked outside and apparated to the same spot down the road from Luna's house. This time, as he approached the house, he could smell the stale smoke in the air.

He approached the ruins cautiously, but there was nothing to worry about. The fire was long ago extinguished, and no animals dared to pick through the fresh ashes.  
He walked around the perimeter, surveying the knee deep rubble. Only the remainder of the chimney stood taller, blackened from the fire and broken jaggedly about halfway up. He walked to what he presumed was Lorcan's room, nudging at the debris with one toe, not spotting anything salvageable. He continued walking toward the kitchen, spotting a large quantity of broken glass.

All of Luna's carefully preserved food was destroyed.

He walked all the way around the remains of the little house, occasionally using his wand to move a larger piece of char. The only thing he found that could possibly be rescued was a metal headboard for a bed, but it would take a lot of work to clean it up. He fully grasped for the first time that everything Luna and Lorcan had owned was gone.

He apparated back to Malfoy Manor, where Dimpy informed him that Lorcan was still sleeping. He nodded, and made his way into the parlour to use the floo.

He called the editor of The Quibbler, notifying the man that Luna had lost everything in a house fire, and asking what she would need to be able to write more articles.

"Not much." the man shrugged. "Just quills, parchment, and access to research materials if necessary."

Draco nodded. "Very well then."

"I'm very sorry to hear of her misfortune." the editor nodded. "But while I have you, may I ask if you wish for me to continue to buy everything she submits?"

"What?" Draco frowned.

"Your father had given an order for us to buy all of her articles, even if we didn't publish them. It's actually worked out well. A few times we've been able to pull out one of her old articles and run it when we needed something to fill a page on short notice." The editor informed him.

"Yes, continue to buy them all." Draco instructed. "We can afford it, and she needs the money."

"As you wish." the man agreed and signed off.

Draco started to go upstairs to his own bedroom, but halfway up, a door down the hall caught his eye.

He turned and made his way back down, slipping into the room he had once feared to enter, locking and silencing the door behind him. He then boldly walked over to the portrait above the fireplace.

"Father." He folded his arms.

"Draco." The man in the portrait tipped his head in greeting.

"Did you know about Lorcan?" Draco asked.

"Who?" Lucius frowned.

"Luna Lovegood's child." Draco ground out.

"I knew she had a child." Lucius shrugged.

"Did you know he was your son?" Draco asked in a huff, certain his father was being intentionally obtuse.

"No. I knew it was possible." Lucius didn't seem at all concerned. "She never informed me, and I didn't see a need to ask."

"Then why did you buy The Quibbler from her?" Draco asked, frowning. "Why did you give the order to buy all of her articles?"

"I owed her a debt." Lucius drawled. "Yaxley, MacNair, and I agreed that if all of what took place in the cellar were to become public knowledge, well, our reputations would be damaged. Fortunately she didn't appear interested in telling the Aurors the full story. Our attorney offered anonymous financial assistance if she refrained from changing her mind. We arranged for the eldest Weasley son and his wife to buy her useless property, we bought The Quibbler from her for more than it was worth, and we made sure she never had a problem selling her articles. My benefaction was because I had red on my ledger. It had nothing to do with her child, other than the fact it would have been very difficult for her to provide for her child had she not kept our secret."

"You raped a teenage girl, made her pregnant, and blackmailed her not to tell anyone?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Not exactly," Lucius shrugged. "Blackmail would have mean I had threatened harm toward her or the child had she told what had happened to her. I simply rewarded her for her silence."

Draco shook his head. "You're a right bastard, you know that? Rewarded her for her silence? She's barely kept herself and the child fed all this time!"

Lucius rolled his eyes. "You act as if I was responsible for them."

"You were responsible!" Draco shouted. "The boy is your son. You knew he could have been and you didn't even bother to find out?"

"Draco please." Lucius made a face of disgust. "You sound like some hysterical female. The child may have been biologically mine, but he was not my _son_ and never would have been. His mother was a blood traitor who had relations with the entire High Council except Snape in one night, and other members individually at various times. Even if I had known I fathered her child, I certainly wouldn't have claimed it."

"Maybe you should have." Draco sneered. "Because if I don't produce an heir, that child is all the Malfoy family has left."

"You wouldn't dare." Lucius growled.

"I continue to be amazed by things this family would dare to do." Draco snapped, stomping from the room.

He made it to the top of the stairs this time, but instead of going to his own room, he stopped in the door of Lorcan's room, watching the child as he slept peacefully.

Draco stood there for over an hour, wondering where this was all going to go.


	10. Chapter 9

"Mother, I need you to come home for a while tomorrow." Draco asked.

"No," Narcissa shook her head. "I am not babysitting your father's bastard."

Draco huffed. "It's not that. Astoria is coming over and I promised her I would have a chaperone here."

His mother rolled her eyes. "You never asked me to chaperone when you sneaked Pansy up to your room. Or that Gwen Bulstrode who was much too old for you and engaged to someone else!"

"I wasn't trying to protect their reputations." He grumbled.

"No, you were quite successfully _ruining_ their reputations." She snarked. "Why are you even bothering with Astoria?"

"Because she's still practically a little girl." He protested.

"She's seventeen now, and if it weren't for the fact your father just died, she would be your wife in a little more than two weeks." She reminded him. "I don't think any of the pureblood society would care if you ruined her at this point. Besides, I'm hearing quite a bit of speculative gossip about exactly who it was you have ruined. You had better work on your official story to explain Lorcan's presence. And if you really believe you need a chaperone, have one of the house elves present."

She signed off, moments before Mimsy came in to tell him that Lorcan was awake.

Draco walked upstairs to find the boy playing with his trains.

"Daddy, did you get any of my toys from my house?" he tilted his head and looked up at Draco, unmistakably Luna's son in that moment.

Draco didn't have the heart to correct him, knowing the child wasn't going to like the answer he was about to give.

"No, everything is gone, Lorcan." He dropped to the carpet to sit beside the boy.

Little gray eyes widened and a bottom lip trembled. "All of my toys burnded up?"

"Everything burned up." Draco confirmed. "All of your toys, your clothes, your furniture, even all those vegetables your mother was putting in those jars."

A lone tear spilled over to roll down Lorcan's cheek.

"Don't cry." Draco wiped it away with his thumb. "We'll get you new things. I'll take you to the toy store and you can buy new ones just like your old toys."

Lorcan climbed into Draco's lap and laid his head against his older brother's chest. "But there aren't any other toys like mine. My mummy made all my animals."

Draco wrapped his arms around the child and put his chin on top of Lorcan's head. "I'm not surprised. Your mummy was always very creative. Did she ever show you her lion hat?"

"She had a lion hat?" Lorcan asked, looking up at him.

"She did," Draco replied, and told the child about it.

"Do you still want to go to the toy store?" Draco offered. "You know, so you can get something else to play with until your mummy can make you some new toys?"

"Okay." Lorcan sniffed.

Draco helped the child wash up and dressed him in clean clothes. He let Lorcan have candy to cheer him up, and then had to clean him up again.

They flooed back to the toy store. There was no need to go to the train section, as Lorcan now had everything there.

Lorcan bypassed the toy soldiers. Draco was somewhat relieved.

He headed straight for the toy brooms.

"No." Draco steered him away. "I have to talk to your mum some more, remember?"

The child paused to look at the games.

"What are they?" Lorcan asked.

"They're games." Draco explained. "Have you ever played Exploding Snap?"

Lorcan nodded. "Unca Ron and Unca Harry play it with me sometimes. I don't like it. It burnded my fingers."

"Okay, we don't have to get that one." Draco looked over the other games. "Snitch Snatcher is for older children. So is Wizard's Chess. What about dominos? Have you ever played with dominos?"

Lorcan shook his head.

"We'll get one of those. You match up the dots, see? That would teach you to count. Your mum couldn't object to that." Draco rolled his eyes.

"I can count." Lorcan insisted. "One. Two. Free. Four."

"Wonderful." Draco groaned.

"Five. Six. Seben. Eight." Lorcan continued.

"Come on, let's go look at the animals." Draco herded the boy along.

"Nine. Ten. Eleben. Twelf." Lorcan kept counting.

"That is really very good." Draco told him. "We will see how high you can count later. But right now, we have toys to look at."

Lorcan picked up a set of carved wooden animals, peering through the transparent box. "Daddy, why is there not a crumple horned snorkack or a exploding snabberwitch in here?"

"Because they're not as enlightened as your mother." Draco laughed to himself.

"Can I hafs these?" Lorcan held up the package of animals.

"Even with no snorkacks or whatever?" Draco asked.

"It still has a giraffe and a tiger. Those are good too." Lorcan nodded solemnly.

He handed the package to Draco, then wandered over to the stuffed animals. He carefully picked through every single one of the dozens in the display before turning back to Draco.

"They don't have a moon frog." He announced. "I had one. My mummy made it. My mummy's name means moon in Latin."

Draco nodded. "My name means dragon in Latin."

"What does my name mean?" Lorcan tilted his head.

"I don't know." Draco shrugged. "We could ask your mummy sometime."

Lorcan turned back to the display and selected a Welsh Green dragon. "I want this one."

Draco pointed to another animal. "Do you want the toad, too, even if it's not a moon frog?"

Lorcan shook his head. "I don't like that one. My mummy will make me a new moon frog when she feels better. Do they hafs dump trucks?"

"What?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"The muggle trucks that you can put things in and carry them around. I had one." Lorcan looked up at him hopefully

"No, this is a magical toy store. They won't have muggle toys. What about a toy wand?" Draco suggested. "Would you like one of those?"

He took the child by the hand and led him to another display.

"Daddy, can we go tomorrow to a muggle store and get me new trucks?" Lorcan asked, quite loudly.

Half the store stopped and turned to look at them.

"Come on, let's look at wands now." Draco herded the child around to the side of the row, away from sight of most of the store. "Please stop calling me Daddy." He hissed once they were no longer the center of attention.

"But I like you when you're my daddy!" Lorcan protested, quite loudly again.

"Let's just find a wand and leave." Draco groaned.

"The wizard doesn't choose the wand, the wand chooses the wizard." Lorcan informed him solemnly.

"I don't have to ask where you learned that." Draco grumbled.

"Mr. Odd-uh-vander teached me." Lorcan nodded. "He makes lots of wands. He said when I get eleben, he's going to make me a very special wand. Did Mr. Odd-uh-vander make your wand?"

"He made the first one." Draco answered. "I got my second one in France."

He took a wand from the box and handed it to Lorcan.

"What happened to the first one?" The child asked, ignoring the wand in his hand. "Did you break it?"

"No, your Uncle Harry took it." Draco growled, waving another of the toy wands. "Here, this one makes green sparks. Do you like this one?"

Lorcan waved the one in his hand and was delighted when blue star shaped spangles shot from the end. "Why did Unca Harry take it?"

"Because ... " Draco forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. "Because he just did."

"Why didn't he give it back?" Lorcan continued.

"Because he just didn't." Draco ground out through clenched teeth. "Do you want the wand you have?"

Lorcan nodded.

"All right then, let's head back to the house." Draco turned, and stopped in his tracks when he saw the woman staring at them with a murderous look in her eyes.

One very pregnant Pansy Parkinson Flint.

"Pansy." He nodded.

She slapped him across the face.

"Daddy, is this the lady who came to jump on the bed? She's really fat." Lorcan tugged on Draco's hand.

"You rutting bastard." She growled. "Who was it?"

Draco sighed. "It's not what you think, Pans."

"Don't call me that!" She shrieked.

"Let's not discuss this here and now." Draco shook his head, desperately trying to maintain his composure.

"You want me to follow you home? Maybe up to your room again?" She spat venomously. "But it doesn't look like you're having trouble in that area."

"Pansy, please ... " He pleaded.

"Oh, now you're going to beg me? After all the times I begged you and you said no?" Her voice increased in volume with each word.

Draco quickly threw up a silencing charm, followed by a Notice Me Not.

"Pansy, you know we wouldn't have made a good match. We would have killed each other. That's why I always said no. It was best for us to both marry the people our parents arranged." He told her gently.

"Best for you, maybe!" She shouted. He looked around nervously, but no one seemed to be watching, other than Lorcan. There wasn't much Draco could do about that.

"You were betrothed to _Astoria Greengrass._ You let my parents marry me off to Marcus!" She continued.

"But the Flints are a fine, pureblooded family. They kept a low profile during the war ... " He tried to reason with her.

"They're so purebred they're de-evolving!" She glared. "I have serious concerns that my child's knuckles will drag the ground when he walks upright!"

Draco could not stop the bubble of laughter that burst from him, mentally picturing the unfortunate offspring of pug faced Pansy and gorilla-like Marcus.

Pansy hit him in the chest with a stinging jinx.

"It isn't funny!" She fumed. "I begged you to let me get pregnant so we could marry each other instead of our arranged fiances. You kept telling me no, but apparently you knocked up someone, while you were still seeing me or immediately afterward!"

"He's not my son!" Draco insisted.

"He just called you Daddy!" Pansy argued. "He looks just like you!"

"Pansy, look ... " He sighed. He would have run his hand through his hair, but one hand was holding Lorcan's and the other was holding Lorcan's toys. "It's just not ... Just believe me, I'm not really his father."

Pansy knelt down in front of Lorcan. "Hi, sweetheart." She smiled, gushing with syrupy sweetness. "You're a very handsome young man. What is your mother's name?"

Lorcan wrapped both arms around Draco's leg, drawing away from the woman. "Luna." He whispered.

Pansy struggled to her feet, which Draco might have laughed at if she had not hit him with a stinging hex to the groin as she stood. He clenched his teeth and bent at the waist and managed not to curse in front of Lorcan, if only because Aunt Bella had done the same thing to him a few times.

"You fucking bastard." She snapped. "Daphne told me but ... "

"Ooooooh, you're not supposed to say that word!" Lorcan informed her, eyes rounded. "When Unca Ron or Unca Charlie says ... "

"Lorcan, quiet." Draco groaned. "Pansy ..."

"We were so worried about you!" Pansy talked over him. "You told me that you had to go home so much because the Dark Lord was asking for you, but it was because you were fucking Loony Lovegood. Were you the one who suggested taking her prisoner?"

"I am not his father!" Draco hissed.

"Does _Astoria_ know about this?" Pansy glared. "Are you still fucking Loony? How did she get you to take her brat shopping? You hate shopping. Or should I say, how many blow jobs ... "

"Shut _up,_ Pansy!" He snapped at her, inclining his head at Lorcan. "If you want to talk like civilized adults, come to the Manor. Otherwise, have a pleasant rest of your day. Lorcan and I need to go home."

He mentally flinched as he realized he had said the word 'home.'

"So Loony and the kid are _living_ with you?" Pansy's eyes went wide. "I guarantee sweet little Astoria doesn't know about _that. _Why don't you just bring Daphne in and have a fucking harem? She'd probably take that offer in a heartbeat. Her parents are pursuing a match between her and Alastair Carrow."

"What?" It was Draco's turn to be shocked. "Isn't he about eighty years old?"

Pansy shrugged. "In case you hadn't noticed, there's a shortage of marriageable pureblood males in our age range, and she's a bit past the usual age of negotiating a marriage contract."

"But it wasn't her fault!" Draco shook his head. "She was going to wait for Greg. He only got two years. No one expected him to _die_ in Azkaban!"

"Yeah, well, he did." Pansy snorted. "And we can't all be such a catch that we would get the top pick of the marriage market, now can we? Just you. You and your beautiful, intelligent, talented, sweet, perfect little _Astoria."_

"Talented? Intelligent?" Draco frowned.

Pansy folded her arms and looked at him like he was an idiot. "She plays piano and violin and sings like a fucking angel. You didn't know that?" Draco shook his head. "And she was a Ravenclaw. She can't be stupid."

"What's a blow job?" Lorcan asked.

"It's what your mummy does for your daddy that makes him happy." Pansy smirked.

Draco started to protest but was distracted as Pansy drew in her breath sharply and pressed her hand against the side of her swollen belly.

"Are you okay, lady?" Lorcan's little face scrunched in concern. "Does your tummy hurt?"

"I have a baby in my tummy." She answered Lorcan. "Sometimes he kicks me and it hurts."

"You should go to the horsepiddle and get him out." Lorcan nodded. "My mummy is at the horsepiddle. I thought she was going to get another baby but Daddy said no."

Pansy's eyes began to widen again. Draco dragged Lorcan to the counter to pay for their items before she could say another word, calling a farewell over his shoulder.

They managed to pay for their purchases and floo home while Draco dodged two more stinging hexes from Pansy.

He asked Dimpy to take Lorcan's new toys upstairs and bring a glass of firewhiskey. He then sank into a chair and buried his head in his hands.

Lorcan climbed over the side of the chair to lay on Draco's back, trying to wrap his little arms around Draco's chest and pressing his head against Draco's shoulder.

"Daddy, I'm sorry the lady was mean to you."

"I'm not your daddy." Draco repeated for what felt like the thousandth time.

"But you're a good daddy. You take care of me. And you took me shopping even though the lady says you hate shopping. And what's a blow job?"

Dimpy appeared with Draco's drink at that moment, so he tossed it back before pulling Lorcan around in his lap and answering.

"A blow job is something you're not old enough to understand. And it's a very ugly thing to say, so I don't want to hear you say it any more." Lorcan nodded solemnly. "I don't mind shopping with you. I just never liked to go with Pansy or my mother."

"Cause they're not fun." Lorcan nodded. "I'm hungry."

"Dimpy, dinner will be ready soon, won't it?" Draco asked.

"Dinner ready as soon as Master and Little Master ready." the elf bobbed his head enthusiastically.

"Well then, we need to go wash our hands." Draco put Lorcan's feet on the floor and stood.

"Can we have fish and chips?" the child asked.

"No, because soon you'll start to grow gills." Draco informed him.

They ate roast beef, which Lorcan decided he liked too. Draco then took him upstairs to get a bath. He dressed Lorcan in his puppy pajamas, and read him a story.

Lorcan snuggled into Draco's side and whispered "I miss my mummy."

"She may get to come home tomorrow." Draco assured him.

"I always tell her goodnight. And she kisses my cheek. On this side." Lorcan pointed.

"Do you want me to kiss you right there?"Draco offered.

The boy's eyes filled with tears. "No, I want my mummy to kiss me."

Draco sighed. "Do we need to go to the hospital again so you can tell her good night?"

Lorcan nodded emphatically.

"Come on, then." Draco stood and held out his arms.

He carried Lorcan downstairs, and flooed them both to St Mungo's. A different lady, this one much older, was stationed at the front desk.

"We just came so he could kiss his mummy goodnight." Draco explained, ready for another argument.

The matron smiled and waved them toward the lift. "Go on, then."

Draco carried Lorcan up to Luna's room, tapping softly on the door before pushing it open.

"Mummy!" Lorcan cried, laughing.

Luna turned toward the door, and Draco was shocked to see her quickly wiping away tears. "Lorcan! There's my love!"

Draco put Lorcan on the bed, where the child threw himself against his mother's chest. Luna wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.

"I miss you Mummy. I want you to come home wif me and Daddy." Lorcan mumbled, his face buried in Luna's shoulder and hair.

"I miss you too, precious. More than you could know." She whispered, with a glance up at Draco.

He drew back to look at his mother. "Mummy, what's a blow job and why does it make Daddy happy?"

Luna's head shot up with a scathing look at Draco. Draco's shoulder's sagged and his hand covered his face.

"Lorcan, I told you that was an ugly word, and not to say that anymore." Draco groaned.

"But my Mummy always says I can ask her anything." Lorcan protested.

Luna continued to look at Draco, who sighed. "We saw Pansy Parkinson, well, she's Pansy Flint now, at the toy store, and she said some things she shouldn't have. Just her being the way she's always been. She asked how many it cost you for me to take your child shopping. I didn't answer her, and got Lorcan away as soon as I could, but he still heard some things he shouldn't have."

She nodded. "Lorcan, that is an very bad thing to say, and I don't want to hear you say it any more. It's something grownups do when they're alone together. I'll talk to you about it more when you're older. It's not something you need to know about now."

"Like when Unca Charlie smoked the cigarette made of weeds and Grammy Mawlee yelled at him and telled him not to spose me an' Teddy to such things?" Lorcan tilted his head.

"Yes, very much like that." Luna agreed.

"Okay, Mummy." Lorcan yawned. "Draco took me to the toy store this afternoon. We got a toy wand that makes blue stars and this dragon," he first held up his snorkack, then switched hands and showed her the stuffed dragon in the other arm. "and a game where you count the dots. I can still count good."

"I know you can." Luna laid down in the bed, Lorcan snuggling beside her.

"We had roast beast for dinner. I like that too." Lorcan's eyes were drifting closed, but he suddenly snapped them back open again. "They had lots of animals but they didn't have crumple horned snorkacks or exploding snabberwitches or moon frogs. Will you make me a new moon frog, Mummy?" He yawned again.

Luna kissed her child's cheek, and then began to stroke his hair. "Of course I will." She promised.

"I want us to live wif Draco. I like it there Mummy but I want you there." He whined.

"Draco and I will have to talk about things." She said softly.

"Talk about my broom." Lorcan pleaded.

"Go to sleep, love, we'll talk tomorrow." Luna whispered.

Lorcan's eyes drifted closed, and his breathing evened out.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Pansy today." Draco told her quietly.

"You can't help what other people say." Luna shrugged. "And my father always said not to worry about what other people think, because most of them don't think very often."

"Why were you crying?" he asked.

She didn't meet his eyes. "I miss Lorcan. Thank you for bringing him to see me."

He folded his arms. "You missed a lot of people for a lot longer time when you were in the cellar and you never cried."

"It's different when you have a child. Hopefully one day you'll understand." She answered easily but still didn't meet his eyes. "Did you by chance go by my house?"

"I did." He nodded.

"Is there anything salvageable?" She asked softly.

"No. I'm sorry." He told her. "Everything is gone. Even all those vegetables you were putting in jars."

She took a deep breath. "I'm probably going to be released tomorrow. Would you be willing to let Lorcan stay with you another few days while I make arrangements? I hate to ask, but we have no place to go, and I ... "

"Of course he will stay with me." Draco interrupted. "And so will you."

"Draco, I can't ... " She shook her head.

"Of course you will. You're his mummy. He misses you terribly. He should be with you." Draco told her. "No argument."

"I can't quite bring myself to be thankful for my house burning down, but if it hadn't, Lorcan wouldn't have spent this time with you." Luna finally looked at Draco. "He has never bonded with anyone else the way he has with you in such a short time. And you seem to care a lot about him. You've really surprised me."

"I've really surprised me too." He answered honestly. He looked down at Lorcan, who was sound asleep. "I'm going to take him home now and put him to bed. We'll be back tomorrow to bring you home."

"It's just temporary." Luna insisted.

"Until we find something suitable for you and Lorcan." Draco agreed.


	11. Chapter 10

Draco flooed home with Lorcan and tucked him into his bed.

He wasn't terribly surprised, however, when he woke up with a little boy sleeping beside him.

* * *

To Draco's surprise, Narcissa arrived just after breakfast.

"Mother, I thought you weren't coming." He frowned.

"That was before I heard about the scene you caused at Trinkets and Trifles yesterday." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you not have any better sense than to bait a pregnant woman in public?"

"I didn't do anything to provoke her!" He protested. "She attacked me!"

"Should you have expected any less?" Narcissa shook her head. "Her condition has only magnified her normally disagreeable and slightly psychotic personality. Honestly, why you would ever get involved with that harpy ... "

"She was a pureblood, from a respectable family, and she put out." He shrugged. "I was a teenage boy. Why do you think I got involved with her?"

"Draco!" his mother admonished. "You are your father's son." She sighed.

"Don't even say things like that." He snapped.

"In the future, if you are in public and encounter someone with whom you are no longer on speaking terms .. " She began.

"We're still on speaking terms." He snorted. "It's just that now, our speaking is something like, 'What do _you_ want?'"

"Enough." Narcissa declared. "Now, wh ... "

Dimpy apparated into the room.

"Little Master ask for Master Draco." The elf popped back out again before anyone else could speak.

"Well, let's go meet the boy you've deemed worth all this trouble." Narcissa gestured toward the door.

She followed her son up the stairs and paused in the doorway as he made his way to Lorcan.

"Daddy, when is my mummy coming home?" He asked, looking up from his trains. He startled slightly at the sight of a stranger, but then smiled. "Is that your mummy?"

"Yes, that's my mother." Draco confirmed, glancing over at her. "She was supposed to be gone for a while, but she decided to surprise me and come home early."

"That's a good kind of surprise." Lorcan nodded. "Not like some fings Unca George does. Is your mummy nice?"

"She's nice to me." Draco looked over at his mother again and smirked.

"You're a handsome young man." Narcissa smiled at the child, crossing the room. "It's nice to meet you. Draco talks about you a lot."

Lorcan gave Draco a very smug smile. "See? I told you that you're a good daddy."

"Is Draco your Daddy?" She asked with a sideways look at her son.

"I want him to be my daddy. He doesn't think he's a good daddy. But he takes good care of me." The boy told her. "You're very pretty. And you smell nice."

Narcissa smiled in bemusement. "And you are a little charmer. You fit right in the Malfoy family, don't you?"

"See? She thinks so too." Lorcan stage whispered at Draco.

"Now why was it you wanted to see me?" Draco asked.

"When is my mummy coming home?" the boy asked.

"I haven't heard, so I'll go floo call St Mungo's and ask." Draco promised.

Lorcan hugged his leg. "Thank you, Daddy."

"I'm not your daddy." Draco repeated, yet again.

"You will be." Lorcan nodded.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm going to call St Mungos."

"I'll see you soon, Lorcan." Narcissa nodded to the boy as she followed her son.

"What is this about your being his father?" She demanded once they were out of earshot.

"That was his idea." Draco shook his head. "I tried to tell him I was his brother, but he didn't understand. Then he decided he wanted me to be his father, because he has this idea that fathers fly their kids around on brooms all the time."

"Some fathers do fly their children around on brooms." Narcissa agreed.

"And some hand over their children to the Dark Lord." Draco snapped.

"Draco ... " His mother sighed.

"Let me rephrase that." Draco snarked. "Some hand one of their children over to the Dark Lord, and pretend the other doesn't exist."

She laid a hand on his arm. "Maybe the two of you will be good for one another. He needs a male role model, and you need someone to show you what love is."

"I know all about love." Draco rolled his eyes. "I dated Pansy, remember?"

"That's not love." Narcissa answered sadly. "Love is when you value someone else's happiness more than your own. "

"Whatever." He snorted, bending down in front of the fireplace.

He called St Mungos, having to talk to four people before he found anyone who could give him information about Luna.

"She will be ready for release within the hour." The mediwitch informed him. "You may want to bring her some clothes. All she has here is the pajamas she was wearing when she came in."

"Very well." Draco nodded, and ended the connection.

He turned to his mother. "She doesn't have any other clothes. They lost everything in the fire and I have no idea what size she would wear."

"Bring her back here first." Narcissa suggested. "We'll find something she can wear and then she can go shopping after lunch."

Draco nodded, then went upstairs to tell Lorcan. "We can go get Mummy in a little while."

"Yes!" the child shouted. 'Is Mummy going to stay here wif us?"

"For now." Draco nodded. "Until you and Mummy find somewhere to live."

"But we live _here."_ Lorcan frowned.

Draco sighed. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

He washed the child's face and hands, which he had sworn he had done after breakfast, and dressed him in one of his new outfits. After Lorcan asked if it was time to go yet six times in ten minutes, Draco gave him and took him on early.

They arrived at the hospital and went to Luna's room. She was sitting on the bed in her pajamas. Lorcan climbed up beside her and then onto her lap, chattering animatedly about how much Luna was going to enjoy living at Malfoy Manor. Draco stood awkwardly by the door.

Finally a mediwitch came in with Luna's discharge instructions. She was to take things easy for a week or so, no strenuous activity until her lungs had been rechecked by the healer.

"Where's Mummy's clothes?" Lorcan turned to Draco.

"Um, sorry." Draco answered. "I didn't know your size, so I thought we could go shopping later this afternoon."

Luna nodded, transfiguring her pajamas into jeans and a casual top.

"Why can't we go now?" Lorcan asked. "We can get Mummy clothes and then fish and chips."

"You've had enough fish and chips!" Draco insisted.

"They're good." Lorcan informed his mother solemnly.

Luna smiled at him. "I'll have to try them some time."

"Like today." Lorcan turned back to Draco.

"Not now." Draco shook his head. "I have a guest coming for lunch."

"Are we having a welcome home party for Mummy?" Lorcan tilted his head.

"No, I'm having lunch with Astoria." Draco looked away.

"Is that the lady we saw at the fish and chips place?" Lorcan frowned.

"Yeah." Draco confirmed.

"No!" Lorcan shouted. "I don't want her there. Don't marry her. I want you to ... "

"Enough!" Draco thundered over him.

Lorcan looked at Draco in shock, scooting closer to his mother.

"I'm really ready to get out of here." Luna told Lorcan. "Let's go have lunch together while Draco has lunch with his friend. You can show me your new toys."

"Come on, Mummy!" Lorcan laughed, jumping off the bed and tugging on her hand.

The only things Luna had to bring were the potted daisy that Draco and Lorcan had given her, and a flower arrangement from Potter and the Weasleys. Draco carried them while Lorcan held Luna's hand. The trio made their way downstairs and into the floo. Draco went through first, with Lorcan deciding he wanted to go through with his mummy.

He landed in the Manor to the sound of voices, which struck him as odd, because his mother had said she was going up to her room.

As the flames died down, he realized his mother was indeed in the parlour, speaking to Astoria.

He was momentarily taken aback, and forgot to step completely clear of the floo. As a result, he found himself sprawled in the floor in a tangle with Luna and Lorcan seconds later.

"Daddy, you're s'posed to _move!"_ Lorcan giggled.

Draco sat up, finding himself soaked with water from the vase and liberally dusted with dirt from the potted plant.

Luna sat up and held out her hand to Astoria. "You must be Astoria. It's very nice to meet you."

Astoria's blue eyes widened as she shook Luna's hand. "My pleasure." She replied uncertainly.

"This is Miss Luna Lovegood, Lorcan's mother." Narcissa introduced. "As for Lorcan, I'll ... just take Miss Lovegood and her son upstairs and leave Draco to explain." Narcissa smiled sweetly. "Lorcan, shall we show your mummy to her room?"

Lorcan stood, narrowing his eyes at Astoria. "No. I'm gonna stay wif my daddy."

"Lorcan, come along." Luna told him sternly.

The little boy huffed and folded his arms, but followed his mother and Narcissa from the room.

Draco pulled his slightly muddy shirt away from his skin. "I'll just get cleaned up, and I'll be right back." He told Astoria.

She nodded politely. "Take your time. I apologize if I'm early. I don't believe we established a time."

"No, sorry." Draco called back over his shoulder as he made his way from the room.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and a small boy came back into the room. He walked right up to stand in front of Astoria.

"I don't like you." He informed her, folding his arms. "I want you to go away so my daddy can marry my mummy."

"I'm very sorry." She answered contritely. "My father and your grandfather decided your daddy and I should get married a very long time ago, long before you were born. I wasn't much older than you are now."

Lorcan frowned at her. "Little kids can't get married."

"No, they can't." She agreed. "But we were told when we got old enough, we would get married."

"My daddy doesn't need you any more." Lorcan continued. "He hafs me and my mummy now."

"No one expected that to happen." Astoria shook her head. "But it doesn't change the fact he's still supposed to marry me. I won't try to take your daddy away. I will still let him spend time with you and your mummy. And maybe you can come spend the night with your daddy and me sometimes. Especially when we have a baby. You'll want to be a big brother, won't you?"

"I want my mummy and my daddy to haf a baby bruffer." Lorcan grumbled. "Not you."

"I don't know if that will happen." Astoria shrugged. "But even if it does, you can still be a big brother to my baby too."

"Will you and my daddy buy me a broom?" Lorcan asked.

"If that's what you want, and your daddy says it's all right." Astoria said.

Lorcan considered the fact for a moment. "I'm not gonna call you Mummy." He told her, still a bit cross.

"You don't have to." She assured him. "You can call me Storie."

"Like in a book?" he grinned.

"Almost." She smiled back.

"Will you read me stories?" he asked.

"If you want me to." She answered.

"Do you like to play wif trains?" He continued.

"I don't know." She looked at him thoughtfully. "I've never had a toy train. But you could teach me."

"Okay." He nodded. "But I still don't want you to marry my daddy."

"I know." She told him. "But I have to."

"If you don't want to, you can just tell my daddy." Lorcan suggested. "He will tell your daddy, and then you won't haf to get married."

"I wish it worked that way." She smiled at him sadly.

"But my daddy will help you." Lorcan insisted. "He's not 'fraid of anyfing ... "

"Lorcan!" His mother admonished. "You know you were supposed to come with me."

"I was talking to Storie." He answered. "She doesn't want to marry Daddy, so I told her ... "

"Lorcan!" Draco barked sharply.

"I go wif Mummy now." Lorcan dropped his head.

He obediently crossed the room and took his mother's hand. He paused at the door.

"But tell him." He stage whispered to Astoria.

She smiled and waved at the child as he was led away.

"I'm sorry, about all of this." Draco began. "Astoria ... " he sighed. "First of all, I am going to speak with your father. I want you to finish school."

She nodded, still watching him with that pleasant, bland look she normally wore, but there was a mild relief in her eyes.

"I need to talk to you about Lorcan." He walked over to lean against the mantle and ran his hand through his hair. "He is not my son. Really. It's a long story, and it's his mother's story to tell, not mine. But I swear I'm telling you the truth."

"I believe you, Draco." she answered softly.

"Good." He nodded. "Beyond that, I need you to understand that Lorcan will be part of my life. That means his mother will naturally be here at times, but there's nothing between us."

She nodded again. "It wouldn't be my place to say anything if there were."

He looked at her oddly. "Of course it would. You will be my wife."

"I understand that men sometimes have needs to be satisfied outside marriage." She flushed and looked at the floor.

He walked across the room to kneel in front of her. "They've completely brainwashed you, haven't they? Is that why you always act like you've barely sense enough to dress yourself when you're in front of me, but you're a Ravenclaw?"

"Mother and Daphne always said that men prefer their wives to be less intelligent." She murmured, still not meeting his gaze.

He gently tipped her face up to look at him. "Other men may, but I enjoy good conversation. I would be quite proud to have an intelligent wife."

She smiled at him shyly.

"I don't want you to be afraid of me." He continued softly. "I've never struck a woman, and I don't intend to start now."

She swallowed and nodded.

"I want you to feel like you can talk to me." He told her.

She nodded again.

"If it's all right with you, I'll ask your father about postponing the wedding until the end of the school year. I don't want you failing your NEWTs because of whatever is going on outside school." He offered.

"Thank you." She smiled. "Mother had been talking about the possibility of getting married around Easter. I was concerned about the possibility of trying to take NEWTs with morning sickness."

"I wouldn't do that to you." He smiled back at her. "If we do get married before you take your NEWTs, we won't try to get pregnant right away."

A frown briefly crossed her face. "I thought you'd want to have a baby right away. Oh." She flushed slightly. "You have Lorcan, so ... "

"No, it's not that." He shook his head. "You're still very young. We have plenty of time to have children."

"All right." She nodded.

"Master Draco." One of the elves called from the doorway. "Lunch is ready."

Draco stood and offered her his arm. "Shall we, then?"

He led her to a dining room set for two.

She turned to him in surprise. "Aren't your mother and Luna and Lorcan joining us?"

"No." He shook his head. "My mother just returned from a holiday in Italy and a bit to catch up on. Luna was just released from St Mungo's this morning. She's still a bit under the weather and besides, she and Lorcan need some time together."

"I hope she feels better soon." Astoria murmured politely.

"Her house burned down. That's why she and Lorcan are staying here right now. They'll be moving out as soon as we can find some place suitable for them." Draco informed her.

"Oh." Astoria nodded. "It's fortunate they weren't injured worse."

"Yes." He nodded in return. "Astoria, tell me something about yourself. We would have been married within two weeks had things turned out differently, but I don't believe we've ever had a proper conversation."

"I'm not sure what you want me to say." She frowned.

"What do you like to do?" He asked. "Do you like Quidditch? What's your favourite colour?"

She folded her hands in her lap. "I like to read, and I like to entertain. Once we have children, I should like to spend time with them, raising them in the proper ways, of course, but I would not neglect spending time with my husband. I have never understood Quidditch, but I do realize the importance of attending Quidditch matches for business purposes, which I shall do whenever called upon. My favourite colour is green, the Slytherin house colour, and the colour of the Greengrass family crest, naturally. I do believe it's also a major colour in the Malfoy family crest."

Draco sighed. "If there were no house colours, or family crest colours, and Astoria got to pick whatever colour she liked, what colour would you pick?"

She thought for a moment. "Yellow, because it's sunny and ... happy. I know that doesn't make sense, but it just ... "

"No," Draco smiled. "I do understand what you mean, and I agree. I think yellow is a sunny and happy colour. What do you and your friends do at school?"

"I don't socialize a lot at school. But I like to go help Madame Pomfrey in the infirmary. She says I have a talent for healing." Astoria looked down shyly.

"I think that's brilliant." Draco told her.

She looked up and smiled.

Afterward, the small talk became a bit easier, as they mostly talked about people they knew and their families.

Once lunch was finished, he asked her to walk to the study with him, while he wrote a note to her father. He then walked her back to the floo in the parlour, kissing her hand before he helped her into the fireplace and offered her the jar of floo powder.

He quietly walked up the stairs to Lorcan's room. He and Luna sat on the floor at the train table, Luna eating while Lorcan chattered animatedly about his trains. Draco stood in the doorway and watched for a while before Lorcan noticed him.

"Daddy!" the boy ran over, took Draco's hand, and led him into the room. "Is Storie gone?"

"Her name is Miss Greengrass." Draco informed him with a raised eyebrow. "And yes, she went home."

"Good." Lorcan nodded. "She doesn't want to marry you. I don't want you to marry her. Do you want to marry her?"

"I'm obligated to marry her. It doesn't matter whether I want to or not." Draco answered.

"She told me to call her Storie." Lorcan said. "She said she won't take you away, but I still want you to marry Mummy and not Storie."

"Lorcan," Draco sighed. "I'm not going to marry your Mummy."

"You said I can have whatever I want when I'm wif you." Lorcan folded his arms stubbornly.

"Marrying someone is not the same as buying you a toy or candy." Draco argued.

"It's time for your nap." Luna informed her son.

"We haf to go shopping for your clothes." Lorcan replied defiantly.

"After your nap." She said.

"I don't wan' take a nap." Lorcan whined.

"Then you won't go shopping." Luna shrugged.

"Fine, but I want you and Daddy to stay wif me." He jumped onto the bed.

Draco sat down on one side of the bed. "Lorcan, just because I don't marry your mummy doesn't mean I don't love you." He sighed.

"Lorcan, you're not being a very nice boy." Luna told him from the other side of the bed. "You didn't argue with people like this before you stayed with Draco."

"We didn't have a daddy before." The child grumbled. "I just wan' keep him."

"You can still keep me, Lorcan." Draco assured. "Just because your mummy and I don't live together, doesn't mean we can't still be family."

"But I want dis family!" Lorcan burst into tears. "Daddy, and Mummy, and me. Togedder. And not Storie. She can be our friend, but not our wife."

"We're here for now." Luna promised, snuggling down next to her son.

The three of them lay there until Lorcan fell asleep. Draco rose carefully, so as not to disturb the child, and Luna got up afterward.

As if by agreement, they both tiptoed into the hall.

"He's a bit overwhelmed by everything." Luna observed.

"I didn't mean to make him think ..."

"You're trying, Draco." She shrugged. "You've never been around children before, but you're making an effort with this one. You may not be doing everything right, but it's better than not trying at all."

He nodded. "Is everything satisfactory with your room?"

"It's fine. I really do appreciate all you've done for us." She told him, pausing at the door.

"Well then, I suppose I'll see you after while and we'll go shopping." He took a step backwards.

"I'll let you know when we're ready." She nodded.

He turned and headed downstairs, not really certain what to do with himself with Lorcan's mother there to take care of her child. Draco realized that his life had consisted of little more than work for a very long time.

He went to the study to send some thank you cards that had been neglected since the funeral. Dimpy met him at the door.

"An owl for Master Draco." the elf said, handing him a parchment.

Draco thanked him absently, taking the envelope into the study. He sat at the desk and poured himself a brandy before he opened it.

_Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

_While I do understand your point that an educated and articulate wife would be an asset to your business, I still believe that educating housewives is rather unnecessary. However, if it is what you wish, her mother and I will enroll Astoria in her final year of school. Perhaps we can meet, after the Christmas holidays maybe, to arrange a date for the wedding. It seems rather excessive to postpone the marriage until the end of the school year. Have you considered the possibility of being married during Astoria's Easter Break? As I am on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts, I'm certain it won't be a problem for Astoria to come home on weekends for the remainder of the school year. That should give you sufficient opportunity to have her close to birthing your heir by the end of next year. It will take several days to gather her supplies and prepare for her to return to school. My wife and I would like to invite you to dinner before Astoria returns to Hogwarts. I shall send another owl in a day or so when arrangements have been made. _

_Wishing you health and prosperity,_

_Robert Greengrass_

Draco shook his head at the letter, thinking it was little wonder that Astoria had been so conditioned to have no aspirations in life other than to be Draco's perfect trophy wife.

"When are you getting married?" His father's portrait asked, startling Draco.

"I don't know." He answered. "We postponed the wedding due to your death, and we haven't rescheduled the date yet."

"Don't screw this up." Lucius spat at him. "I negotiated the very best candidate for marriage of this generation for you. Don't screw things up with Miss Greengrass and end up with some second class bint like her sister."

"I have no intention of doing so." Draco replied coolly, narrowing his eyes at the painting.

"See that your fascination with the blood traitor's bastard doesn't interfere with your future." Lucius drawled. "He's not your responsibility. I have no idea why you think he is. He will be fine if you just throw some galleons his way and go on about your life. Children grow up every day without a proper father figure and turn out quite well."

"Yeah, I did." Draco snapped, stomping out of the study.

He went to the library in search of a book, but didn't find anything that caught his interest.

He ended up out in the garden, walking aimlessly, until he came upon Luna sitting by the pond.

"I'm sorry, Draco." She spoke without looking up. "I didn't mean to disturb your walk."

"No, it's fine." He shook his head. "You're welcome to anything or anywhere you'd like while you're here."

"That's very kind of you." She replied, tilting her head to look at him. "You're not like you were in school. You're changed very much."

"We all have." He sighed.

"Yes, we have." She agreed. "Good luck with working out whatever it is you have on your mind."

She turned back to look into the pond again.

He didn't ask why she thought he had something on his mind, or what was so interesting in the water. He had learned his lesson when she had been prisoner here about asking questions he didn't want the answers to.

He wandered back into the house, and sat in his bedroom, looking out the window, until Dimpy came to tell him that Luna and Lorcan were ready.

He washed his face and changed clothes before going downstairs to meet them at the floo.

Lorcan frowned when Draco walked into the room. "Daddy, did you not get your nap? You look grumpy?"

Draco smiled weakly. "I'm fine."

"Maybe you should have a chocolate frog." Lorcan suggested. "That always makes you feel better."

"Maybe I will." Draco nodded.

They took the floo to Diagon Alley.

"Twilfit and Tatting or Madame Malkins?" Draco asked. "I have accounts at both."

"Would you mind if I went to a new place?" Luna asked.

"Whichever you want." Draco shrugged.

She led them down to a shop two doors down from Weasley Wizarding Wheezes called Yesterdaze.

"Luna, you don't have to shop here." Draco frowned. "We'll get you new clothes."

"I like these things." She smiled headed off toward a pink and purple striped jumper.

The store sold used clothing, both wizard and muggle, much to Draco's dismay. Luna flittered around, choosing jeans and jumpers and tops in bold patterns and many colours.

"You have to get at least a couple dresses." Draco insisted.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because you may have to go to a nice dinner or party, and you'll need something to wear." He shook his head.

"I never get invited to anything like that." She shrugged.

"Well, what if Lorcan does?" Draco argued. "You may have to go with him and look nice."

"It must be terrible to worry so much about what other people think of your clothing." She told him, but she did wander over to the dress rack. The first one she selected was bright orange, in a style that made the dress she had worn to Slughorn's Christmas party look demure.

"I'll make you a deal." Draco offered. "Just let me pick one dress for you."

"All right." She agreed.

He rifled through the rack until he found a plain royal blue gown. It was modestly cut, with thin straps and a sweetheart neckline, gently flowing from the hips. "This one." He held it out to her.

"I'm going to try these on now." She looked over at the pile of clothes she had accumulated.

Draco thumbed toward Lorcan, who was spinning around and around in the chair where he had been told to wait. "I'm going to take him for a walk. How long before you think you'll be done?"

"Ten or fifteen minutes, maybe." Luna squinted at the pile of clothes. "But there's a toy room in the back. You could take him in there."

"I wish you'd told me that an hour ago." Draco grumbled.

He and Lorcan went to the toy section, where they found a set of enchanted jacks. Lorcan giggled with delight over the jacks that jumped when you tried to catch them.

"I need this, Daddy!" Lorcan exclaimed.

"All right." Draco nodded with a smile.

The clerk wrapped up Lorcan's package and then Luna's purchases. Draco signed the credit slip, and asked to have everything sent to the Manor.

The three of them turned toward the door, discussing where they were going next. The door opened, and Astoria Greengrass walked in.

"Oh, hello." She stammered, flushing slightly.

"It's good to see you again." Luna smiled.

"Your father owled that you were going back to school." Draco said.

"Yes, I was in Diagon Alley getting my supplies." Astoria nodded. "I was in here earlier and saw a shirt. I didn't get it at the time, but I think I do want it."

"I love their vintage t-shirts." Luna offered.

"That's what this one was." Astoria smiled slightly. "It was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and one of the dwarfs ... "

"Looks like Professor Flitwick." Luna finished for her. "I saw it too."

The two young women went off together in search of the shirt, while Draco and Lorcan went back to the toy room.

They were attacking each other with toy snakes when Luna and Astoria found them.

"We found the shirt Storie was looking for." Luna told them, while Astoria held up a bag.

"Daddy, I'm hungry. Can we go have fish and chips?" Lorcan asked.

"Fish and chips is my favorite too." Astoria told the child.

"Come wif us, Storie." Lorcan invited.

Draco looked at the child sharply for a moment before recovering. "Yes, Astoria, would you like to join us?"

She looked at them uncertainly for a moment, until Luna chimed in.

"Yes, please come with us."

"I'd love to." Astoria accepted with a smile.

They went back to the same restaurant, again sitting by the aquarium. Luna and Astoria, both Ravenclaws, soon found a dozen topics to talk about that Draco knew nothing of. Lorcan once again was occupied with the fish.

Draco sat back and looked around the room, wondering how long it would take for the gossip to get back to his mother that he was having dinner with his fiancee and his mistress, and they were acting like long lost best friends.


	12. Chapter 11

Luna took Lorcan to the lavatory to wash him up after dinner, leaving Draco at the table with Astoria.

"He's a great kid." She told Draco.

"You obviously think so." Draco smirked. "You've been playing with him and making faces at him all through dinner."

"I always wanted a little brother or sister." She shrugged.

"You're going to be a great mum one day." He smiled at her.

She paled slightly.

"I didn't mean right away." He hastened to add. "I intend to honour what I told you earlier. We don't have to have a child right away."

She nodded, looking slightly relieved.

"Why don't you come for dinner tomorrow night?" She invited.

"Luna and I are going to look at a house for her tomorrow." Draco replied. "I'm not sure how long we'll be gone."

"I could watch Lorcan for you." Astoria offered.

"Really?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"I already told you that I like him." She answered. "He and I should get to know one another better, so that he doesn't sneak into the parlour and order me to leave again."

"I am so sorry about that." Draco apologized.

Astoria grinned. "It was kind of cute. My father would have probably called him an insolent little brat, but I thought it was funny the way he tried to take charge."

"That's the Malfoy in him." Draco rolled his eyes.

Astoria looked at him curiously, but didn't ask what he meant.

Luna and Lorcan returned to the table then, with Lorcan tugging on Draco's hand. "Come on, Daddy. It's time to go home and take a baf."

"You just want to play with the new toy boats." Draco nodded knowingly.

"I am absolutely fill-fee." Lorcan held his shirt out and looked at it. "Mummy said so."

"And Mummy is always right, is she?" Draco asked with amusement.

"That's why she gets to be the mummy." Lorcan stage whispered conspiratorially.

"Lorcan, would you like to stay with me tomorrow while your parents run some errands?" Astoria asked.

Draco and Luna both looked at her in surprise.

"Okay." Lorcan nodded. "But you have to come to my house so you can play wif my trains."

"That sounds like fun." Astoria smiled.

Luna gave Draco a look that indicated there would be discussion later, but didn't say anything.

They walked to the floo together, seeing Astoria off to her home before Luna and Lorcan, followed by Draco, went back to Malfoy Manor.

Once they got home, Luna sent Lorcan upstairs to get his boats, telling him she would meet him in the bathroom in a minute. As soon as he was out of earshot, she turned to Draco.

"What was that about?" She folded her arms.

"What?" he frowned.

"Astoria watching Lorcan tomorrow while we go to look at houses." Luna answered.

"She offered." Draco shrugged. "I figured it was a good idea, because otherwise he would be bored, and when he gets bored, he gets into things." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What did you think it was?"

"Bonding between your future wife and a child you wanted custody of." She replied matter of factly.

"It is, but isn't that a good thing?" He looked at her oddly. Comprehension passed across his features. "You think I'm asking Astoria to bond with Lorcan so we can take him from you."

Luna didn't answer him, just dipped her head, looking up with a wounded expression.

"Luna, you're a wonderful mother. You love Lorcan and he loves you. I want to spend time with him, but I'm not going to take him from you. Ever. I swear." He vowed.

She nodded with a sad smile. "Thank you."

There was a crash from upstairs.

"One of us had better go see what he's into." Draco shook his head.

They both made their way to the nursery, where Lorcan had managed to pull one of the drawers completely out of the dresser.

Draco sighed. "I've learned not to ask."

Draco went ahead and told them goodnight, so he could head to his study to plan out what houses and Luna would look at the following day. They would be able to do a lot more than originally planned if Lorcan was with Astoria.

He compiled a list of ten potential properties, including two that the Malfoy family already owned, and then waved his wand to change the asking price on the documents to something close to what he estimated Luna's insurance settlement would be for her burned house.

Draco then went upstairs and changed, pouring himself a firewhiskey and staring into the flames in the hearth for a while before dragging himself to bed.

He laid in bed and stared at the canopy overhead for what felt like hours. He was thankful that Astoria and Luna seemed to be getting along, and that Astoria was making such an effort to get to know Lorcan, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak.

The house was quiet. Completely quiet.

He couldn't help but think how different it had been four years ago. When the Dark Lord had taken the only home Draco had ever known as his headquarters.

When Death Eaters had wandered in and out at all hours of the day and night.

When his father used to go out on missions, and come home with blood staining his long blond hair.

Someone else's blood.

When Draco had stopped being surprised and horrified to hear screaming and pleas for mercy coming from some other room in his home.

Mercy that was never given.

Some of the screaming had been from Luna. She never begged for mercy. Ollivander had, but she hadn't. She had probably known it was pointless.

He had believed, at the time, that she was being tortured for information.

Or was that what he wanted to believe? Had he known the truth back then, somewhere in the depths of his soul, and just not wanted to believe it?

He could hear the screaming again.

It wasn't real. He knew that. It was part of what the mind healer called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

It was part of what Draco called, at least within his own head, his private penance for all the things he had done.

Best to face it head on, he had learned.

He slipped out of bed, not bothering to put a robe on over his pajamas.

He walked silently through the house, more of habit than an attempt not to disturb anyone. He made his way down the stairs to the cellar, his chest tightening as he realized there was a light coming from within the room.

Luna stood in the center of the old cell, now just a storage room full of old furniture, her back to him.

"Hello, Draco," she said softly. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

"You didn't." He answered, shaking his head, and then realizing how stupid that was, as she couldn't see him. "I just ... I don't know, honestly. I couldn't sleep."

"I couldn't either." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I didn't think it would affect me this much, to be back in this house. It's just a place, and the people who hurt me aren't here any more."

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

She turned. "Why? You didn't do anything to me."

"I didn't stop it." He looked at the floor. "I could hear you screaming. I would just put my pillow over my head, or silence my door. I never came to see what was going on."

"What would you have done if you had?" She shrugged. "I don't believe the other Death Eaters would have stopped if you told them to knock it off because you were trying to sleep. They really weren't very considerate at all."

He frowned at her in bewilderment. "How can you make jokes about it?"

It was her turn to frown. "I wasn't making a joke. They really weren't nice people, Draco. If you had interrupted, there's no way to know what they might have done to you."

"Why would you care what they did to me?" He shook his head, disbelieving. "They did terrible things to you. I didn't do anything to help you. You should hate me."

"But I don't." She smiled at him sadly. "You were forced to do things against your will as well. You of all people should understand how I felt. You don't hate your mother because she couldn't save you."

"The Dark Lord would have killed her if she had tried." Draco huffed.

"And the Death Eaters probably would have killed you if you had tried to help me." Luna sighed. "If they had, you wouldn't be here now to help Lorcan and me."

"But it ruined your life." Draco shook his head. "You had Lorcan. You didn't finish school. You never got to go on a Scamander expedition or do the things you wanted."

"Do you know what I think?" she tilted her head to look at him. "All of these people who want to go back and do things differently would just end up making different mistakes. Life is never going to turn out the way you planned, but that doesn't mean you let the negatives keep you down. There's always a silver lining if you take time to look for it. I wouldn't trade Lorcan for anything."

She paused a moment, as if gauging his reaction. He nodded to let her know he understood.

"Actually I did finish school." Luna continued. "I did my studies at home, and then took my exams at the end of the year. Professor McGonagall said she had another student who had to do something similar."

"I was the other student." Draco laughed mirthlessly. "Part of my probation was that I had to finish school, as I spent most of my seventh year at the Dark Lord's beck and call rather than in class. By the third day, McGonagall told the Auror office they were going to have to provide me with full time security. It ended with a compromise that I could do my studies at home by owl and floo."

She gave him an honest smile then. "It's funny how our lives seem to parallel one another sometime."

At one time, he might have shouted at her for saying something like that. Right this moment, however, something felt right about being on the same side with Luna Lovegood.

"I didn't know how much I needed Lorcan in my life." She fixed Draco with her large, unblinking eyes. "He centers me, for lack of a better term. And you didn't know how much you needed him either."

Draco clenched his jaw, angry at himself for opening the door for her to play mind healer on him.

It wouldn't do, however, to upset her if he wanted to have Lorcan around, so he changed the subject instead.

"Why didn't you get rid of him?" Draco asked. "You were alone, underage, and broke. Surely you must have considered it."

"It was too late by the time I found out." She informed him. "And even if it hadn't been, I realized he must have some truly important destiny, so I wouldn't have."

"What?" He frowned.

"I was beaten and tortured and starved in your cellar."She shrugged, as if she were discussing the weather. "When I was rescued, I went through an awful time. I didn't eat properly or take care of myself as I should. I didn't know I was pregnant until I was about five months along. I actually felt him moving and went to the healer thinking it was the residual effects of some curse the Death Eaters had used on me. The healers couldn't believe I hadn't miscarried him with everything I had been through. That's when I knew he had some greater purpose. That he was going to change the world, somehow."

"Don't you think that's a lot of weight to put on someone's shoulders?" He scoffed. "What do you think he is, the second coming of Harry Potter?"

"No," She shook her head. "Maybe he cures cancer. Or maybe he becomes the potions master who inspires the person who does. You never know how your actions will effect the world around you. Or maybe he was just meant to change your heart."

He stared at her, a thousand thoughts whirling through his head.

Most of them involved shouting.

He didn't have the opportunity to reveal any of them, however.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Goodnight, Draco." She called over her shoulder as she headed back upstairs.

He stood, his hand pressed to the side of his face, and watched her go.

* * *

Astoria arrived while they were still eating breakfast. Lorcan immediately lost any interest in his food.

"Come on, Storie, let's go play so Mummy and Daddy can go off togedder." Lorcan invited.

She made him kiss Draco and Luna goodbye before they went upstairs. The child threw his arms around his mother's legs.

"I love you, Mummy." He grinned up at her, and Luna leaned down to kiss his forehead. He then turned to Draco, but instead of hugging him, Lorcan tugged at his trouser leg instead.

"C'mere, Daddy, so I can tell you sumfink."

Draco smiled in amusement at the two women, and then knelt down to the boy's level.

Lorcan leaned in to whisper in Draco's ear. "Go take Mummy and get married while you're gone. Storie doesn't want to marry you."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Not going to happen." He muttered back.

Lorcan snorted in annoyance.

"Go play with Storie, or you'll have to come with us." Draco warned.

The child immediately ran over and grabbed Astoria's hand, tugging her toward the stairs.

Draco and Luna got their travelling cloaks, then walked outside to apparate.

The first place they looked at was a cute little cottage on a side street in Godric's Hollow. Luna quite liked the house, but told Draco she would prefer something not quite so close to the neighbors.

The second was an old cabin in the woods outside St Ottery Catchpole, near where Luna and Lorcan had lived previously. The property was beautiful, nearly three acres of land, cleared around the homestead, with the rest wooded. The structure itself needed some work, having been vacant for many years.

Luna moved from room to room, her eyes alight.

"You like this one?" Draco smirked.

"It's perfect." She smiled back.

"It's a dump." He frowned.

"It just needs a little work." She assured him.

"Yes, and Hungarian Horntail is a lizard with a little bit of an anger problem." He huffed.

She produced a parchment and self-inking quill from her cloak pocket and began to make a list of the repairs and renovations she wanted for the property.

She then waved her wand, vanishing the dust and grime from the windows and surfaces. "I'm sure the owner won't mind the place being a bit cleaner." She shrugged.

Draco had to admit, the cabin looked much better once it was clean. The large windows let in plenty of natural light, while the tree canopy overhead would keep the worst of the summer heat out. The rooms were large and open, and the house was structurally sound, as far as he could tell.

She handed him the list, and as he read it, he looked around, imagining the changes she described.

He handed the list back to her. "You're right, I think it will be perfect when it's done." He cleared his throat, not certain why it suddenly felt tight. "Do you want to go look at the next property now?"

"No, this is the one I want if we can work things out." She shook her head.

He flipped through the paperwork, smirking to himself when he realized the property was owned by a Malfoy Industries holding company.

"I know the owner." He told her. "I'm sure we can close the deal within a few days, and I'll see about setting up to have the work done."

They walked outside and apparated back to the Manor.

"I'll go to the study, send some owls, see what I can do about making the arrangements." He told her.

Luna hummed and skipped her way back to the house.

Draco went to the study as promised, where he owled the solicitor to prepare a deed in Luna's name as soon as possible. He then floo called the firm Lucius had always contracted to do household work. The foreman assured Draco that he would give this request his top priority and promised he could have the repairs and renovations done by the end of the week. Draco duplicated the keys and owled a set over so the contractors could start as soon as possible.

He then went upstairs, where he found Storie coming out of the nursery.

"Leaving already?" He asked.

She smiled at him shyly. "You weren't gone nearly as long as I thought you would be."

"Luna decided after seeing the second house that she wanted that one and didn't need to look at any more." He offered his arm. "I'll walk you downstairs."

She took his arm and fell into step beside him.

"Hopefully the house will be ready by the end of the week." He continued. "And they can move this weekend, or the first of next week." He patted her hand. "Then it will be home for the two of us soon. And my mother, although she prefers to spend much of her time travelling."

Astoria nodded, an odd look on her face.

"W-Why don't you come for dinner tonight?" she invited. "I'll be leaving this weekend for Hogwarts, and it sounds like you'll be rather busy as well."

"I'd love to." He smiled.

They reached the floo, and he helped her to step up onto the hearth, kissing her hand in farewell. He then leaned in and kissed her cheek. She stiffened slightly.

"Sorry," she murmured, looking away. "I was just a bit ... surprised."

"I understand, love." He nodded, offering her the bowl of floo powder.

Once the flames died down, he made his way back up to the nursery, where Luna and Lorcan were reading a book, curled together on the carpet.

"Come read with us, Daddy." Lorcan offered.

"Lunch will be ready soon." Draco told them.

"Then stay here and eat with us." Lorcan shrugged.

Draco called for Dimpy, and asked to have their meal served in the nursery instead of the dining room. He watched Luna with her son until the food came.

Once the finished eating, Dimpy returned to inform Master Draco that two owls had come in the past hour.

"Hopefully word about the house." He glanced over at Luna.

"I'll get Lorcan washed up and down for his nap and I'll be there in a few minutes." Luna nodded.

Both messages were in fact about the house. The attorney advised that he could have the new deed drawn up by the end of the day. Draco sent back a request that he have Luna come in to sign the papers in the morning, and then Draco would come later and sign, so that Luna would not realize she was "buying" the house from him. He also explained that Luna believed that Draco was loaning her the money to buy the house until her insurance settlement paid off, but Draco had no intention of ever taking any galleons from her.

The second letter was from the contractor, who had gone to take a look at the house as soon as he received the keys. He believed the work needed would not be as intensive as he first thought, and would probably be completed within two days.

Luna came into the study as Draco finished reading the second message.

"Good news?" She asked.

"You'd better start furniture shopping." He grinned at her. "The paperwork to transfer ownership will be ready tomorrow, and the contractor thinks he may be done the day after that."

"Thank you!" She gasped, flinging herself forward to throw her arms around Draco's neck.

He stood still, somewhat surprised at the emotion from normally aloof Lovegood.

"You're welcome." He murmured.

She drew back and looked up at him. "I'm so glad. I'm thankful that you've allowed us to stay here, but I really do want to get back to my own place and back to our lives and ... " She trailed off, still looking up at him.

Excitement made her cheeks rosy and her eyes bright. It must be the adrenaline and the ... whatever else it was your body produced when you were in a state like this, he thought to himself as he stared at her, realizing for the first time that Luna Lovegood was one of the most beautiful women he knew.

Draco wasn't quite sure how it happened, but then his lips closed over hers and his hand came up to cup her cheek and then her lips parted and his tongue slipped between them. Time seemed to stop as she melted against him and they both lost themselves in the most perfect kiss Draco had ever had in his life.

Luna made some little noise deep in her throat, and Draco suddenly came to his senses, feeling as if he had suddenly been dunked in freezing water.

"I'm sorry." he gasped, pushing away from her. "I shouldn't have ... I'm sorry, Luna. I won't let it happen again."

She nodded, not meeting his eyes. "I understand." She wrapped her arms around herself. "You don't have to apologize, Draco. I understand."

"What do you understand?" he asked, something in her tone giving him the idea they weren't talking about the same thing.

She shrugged, still looking away. "I've been with at least six men and Bellatrix Lestrange. Probably more, because sometimes I was unconscious or blindfolded. I'm not what you're looking for in a wife."

"What? Luna, no!" He protested. "I was apologizing because I was afraid I was making you uncomfortable. I didn't want to remind you of ... things and upset you."

"Draco, what just happened between us bore absolutely no resemblance to anything that happened in the cellar." She said softly, looking at him for the first time.

"Luna," He sighed and turned away from her. "I'm betrothed. I can't offer you a future."

"I understand." She nodded. "It was just a kiss."

He nodded as well, his back still turned to her. "It was just a kiss."

"Thank you again Draco." She murmured, barely above a whisper.

When he turned back around, she was gone.


	13. Chapter 12

Draco spent most of the afternoon hiding in his study. He cleared the entire stack of documents Melina had sent over for his review or signature. He finished off the rest of the thank you notes and acknowledgements from the funeral. He drafted a letter to the investors and another to the staff of Malfoy Industries, assuring them he did not plan to make any immediate changes to the company, and vowing to be accessible and receptive to ideas and suggestions.

Late in the afternoon, someone tapped on the door.

"Come in." He called, expecting a house elf.

It was Luna and Lorcan.

He was momentarily so surprised he almost forgot to stand up when a lady came into the room.

"Hello, Draco." Luna smiled at him serenely. "Would you mind if Lorcan and I took a walk in the garden?"

"No, not at all," he shook his head, his brain taking a second to catch up with her words. "You're welcome to free use of the house and grounds, other than my mother's private quarters, of course. Just watch Lorcan, because there is a pond out there."

"Come wif us, Daddy!" Lorcan ran across the room and threw himself onto Draco's leg.

Draco looked at Luna, who still showed no trace of upset. "I guess I could, if your mummy doesn't mind. I'm about done with my work in here."

"Of course I don't mind." Luna replied.

Draco escorted them outside and the trio walked through the grounds. Draco realized for the first time that he should have probably taken Lorcan outside while Luna was in the hospital. The child was fascinated with everything, allowing Draco to see the estate through Lorcan's eyes, rather than his own that had long ago taken the beauty of the place for granted.

They came across Narcissa sitting on a wicker chaise under a wisteria covered pergola. She invited them to join her for a moment, waving to two benches nearby.

"We've been 'splorin' the garden!" Lorcan informed her boisterously. "You gots lots of plants that go in potions and hollyhocks as big as my head and white birds that scream like a lady. And Daddy says there's a pond wif fishes, but I hafs to be careful not to falled in. But I know how to swim. I was swimming in the baftub last night."

"Yes, you should be very careful of the pond." Narcissa agreed. "And be certain to stay on the paths and not wander into the plants. I haven't seen one in several years, but there have been snakes about before."

Lorcan nodded, wide eyed. "I will be careful not to hurt the snakes."

Draco clamped his lips together to keep from laughing. This was definitely Luna Lovegood's child.

"Make sure you keep an eye on him back around the statue of Demeter as well." Narcissa warned. "I don't believe anyone has renewed those wards since you were a child."

"What wards?" Draco frowned.

"Where the pile of rocks are, with the chrysanthemums growing among them, there's a fissure leading to an underground cavern. A grown man would probably get stuck, but a child could crawl through easily. The Malfoy family lost a child down there in the early 1200s." She informed him. "That was why the rocks were placed there. But either they shifted or the mouth of the cave shifted, because another child fell in during the late 1600s."

"How terrible." Luna shook her head.

A peacock walked by then, tail spread wide.

"Oooooooooh!" Lorcan squealed, pointing and jumping down from his seat.

"Be careful!" Draco warned. "You can walk closer and look at him, but do it slowly and quietly. If you frighten him, he may try to peck you."

Lorcan hunched over, making slow and exaggerated steps toward the bird. Luna rose and took his hand, showing him how to walk quietly.

"He's really an engaging child." Narcissa sighed, looking over at Draco. "I like to believe your father was like that before his mother died."

Draco snorted but didn't answer.

"Do you really believe that he just decided one day that he would be a total and complete arse toward his family?" She raised an eyebrow at Draco, who was somewhat shocked to hear such a base word come from his mother's lips.

"No, I believe he was probably born with no heart, or soul, or conscience, or whatever." Draco huffed.

"He had all of the above." Narcissa shook her head sadly. "They were just all scarred very deeply."

She reached over and patted Draco's hand. He did not look convinced.

"Don't you know what happened to your grandmother?" Narcissa continued.

"Father fell into the pond. She got him out, but drowned in the process." Draco answered, as if reciting facts for a teacher.

"The pond was frozen over. Your father was three years old. He ran across the surface, being fascinated with the ice as children are. The ice cracked and he fell in. Your grandmother pulled him out, but she fell through the ice as well. She was six months pregnant, and couldn't pull herself out. Help did not get there in time. Your grandfather blamed your father for the death of his wife and child. Imagine a child Lorcan's age, if his father were to tell him daily that it was his fault that his mother and brother were dead, and that his father wished he were dead too."

Draco watched Lorcan smiling up at Luna, feeling cold all the way down to his soul.

"Aren't you supposed to have dinner with the Greengrasses tonight?" Narcissa reminded him, interrupting his thoughts.

"Bollocks!" He huffed, jumping to his feet. "What time is it?"

He cast a tempus charm, and cursed again at the result.

"Luna, Lorcan!" He called, frightening away the peacock. "I've got to get back to the house. I've a dinner I'm supposed to attend tonight, and I have to leave shortly."

Lorcan looked a bit disappointed.

"But I want you to eat wif us, Daddy." Lorcan pleaded, his bottom lip poking out.

Narcissa laughed. "Oh my. That lip. I can't tell you how many times I saw that lip from another blond little boy."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Draco glared at her.

"You still do it when you don't get your way." His mother informed him with a smile.

He ignored her.

"I have to go." He knelt in front of Lorcan. "But I'll be back later this evening, and I'll come tell you goodnight."

"Do you promise?" Lorcan asked.

"I promise. Even if you're already asleep." Draco nodded.

Lorcan nodded.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to the house." Draco held out his hand.

"I'll take them back, if they want to stay a little longer." Narcissa offered.

Luna looked somewhat surprised, but turned to Narcissa. "That would be lovely. I'd like to ask you about some of the plants, if you don't mind."

Narcissa smiled again. "Think well about whether you really want to do that. I was a Herbology nerd during my Hogwarts days."

Luna smiled back at the older woman. "Splendid."

Draco looked from one to the other and shook his head. "I'll leave you to it, then."

He returned to the house, quickly showering and dressing in formal robes. The Greengrasses always stood on ceremony. Sometimes he wondered if old Robert Greengrass required a full place setting with china and silver and a crystal goblet and dress robes for a midnight snack.

He arrived in the floo, greeted by a house elf, of course. The elf escorted him to a sitting room where Astoria waited, attended by another elf.

Draco bowed and kissed her offered hand.

The house elf made some indiscriminate noise, probably to remind Draco of its presence.

As if he thought there was any chance it would leave. The Greengrasses would not allow a gentleman to be alone with one of their daughters if they could stop it.

He straightened, and realized at once something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Astoria sighed. "Oh it's nothing."

"Begging your pardon, dear lady, but something is bothering you." He narrowed his eyes at her.

She huffed, most unladylike. "Could we dispense with the formalities when my parents aren't around?"

He stiffened slightly, unused to seeing her being anything less than unyieldingly formal.

"All right," He nodded. "What is it then?"

"My parents and Daphne had a huge row." She told him. "I thought it might be best to cancel our dinner this evening, but my father insisted that we carry on and act as if nothing happened. Daphne, however, was ordered to remain upstairs."

"What happened, if you don't mind my asking?" Draco frowned.

"Daphne had lunch with Malcolm Preece today." Astoria looked away. "Father found out that she left the restaurant with him alone and she refused to account for her whereabouts for the next two hours. He thinks Daphne is trying to get pregnant by someone else to ruin her betrothal to Alastair Carrow."

"Oh Merlin." Draco sank down on the sofa opposite Astoria. "And of course Preece ... "

"Is a muggleborn, which really, really makes things ... unpleasant." Astoria finished for him.

"Would you want to marry Alastair Carrow if it were you?" Draco asked, shaking his head.

"Not at all." She agreed. "I asked Father why Daphne had to get married now. Why she couldn't just work or do charity volunteer work for a while. He told me that she would soon be to old for any respectable man to want her, and that she was becoming far too willful and unpleasant as it was."

"She's only twenty two." Draco shook his head.

"How many pureblooded women do you know who were still unmarried at twenty two?" Astoria reminded him.

He nodded, conceding her point.

"Mr. Malfoy!" boomed a deep voice from the doorway. "How wonderful to see you this fine evening!"

"Mr. Greengrass," Draco stood, crossing the room to shake the man's hand. "Thank you for inviting me. Your lovely daughter is a most charming hostess."

'Of course she is." the man heartily agreed. "She's been taught by the finest deportment tutors, and of course, her gracious mother. It may be boastful, but I do believe my Astoria is the most lovely young lady in all of pureblood society, short of my beautiful wife."

"I never knew your wife as a young lady, but she is quite a beautiful and charming woman now." Draco agreed.

Greengrass laughed and clapped his future son in law on the shoulder. "I knew I liked you, my boy. Come along, dinner is ready."

Someone had charmed the massive mahogany table smaller, as Draco had previously seen it seat fifty guests easily. Tonight, there was perhaps room for twelve, with four places set at one end of the table. Robert Greengrass, of course, was seated at the head, with his wife on his right and Astoria beside her. Draco was seated across from the ladies.

They made small talk through the prawns and the soup. The house elves had just brought the Trout Grenobloise, and of course Greengrass was telling Draco how the fish was from the river running through their estate, when one of the elves turned sharply and dropped the empty bowl she had been removing.

Irritation crossed the host's face for a moment, before he seemed to remember their guest.

"Just clean it up, Nippy." He waved a beefy hand. "Accidents do happen."

"It's really pathetic that you show more consideration for a servant than your own child." A cold voice called from the doorway. "But that's just for the benefit of our guest, isn't it? You'd scream like a banshee if the Malfoy money wasn't sitting at the table."

They all turned to see Daphne, rather unsteady on her feet, leaning against the doorframe.

"Daphne, have you been drinking?" Her father rose to his feet. "Nippy, Tinker, take her up to her room."

"Oh yes, shut me up again." She shouted. "Merlin forbid there be any unpleasantness around perfect little _Astoria!"_

"Daphne." Her mother warned.

"Oh yes, she's the prize. You didn't ask her where she was, what she was doing when she took off by herself the other day. Were you afraid to find out? Afraid your perfect little princess might have defiled herself? I can tell you where she was. She was with him!" She pointed at Draco. "But don't worry, they weren't alone. His mistress and bastard kid were there too."

Daphne's mother gasped.

"Yeah, you think you got _Astoria_ the cream of the marriage crop, don't you?" Daphne spat venomously. "Well you're wrong. He's going to make her miserable. He's got Luna Lovegood on the string, and already has a son with her. He's never going to love you the way he loves them, Storie. He's going to fuck around on you. Women fall all over themselves for him. It's got to be the money, because I fucked him and it wasn't that great."

There was a stunned silence for a moment before Robert Greengrass approached his daughter menacingly. "You mean to say you've defiled yourself with your sister's fiance?"

"Yes, I did." Daphne took a wavering step toward him. "Why? Does that make me unfit for you to marry off to that disgusting, creepy old lecher?"

"This is why we couldn't find a better fiance for you!" Her father thundered. "You are nothing but a common whore!"

"Really?" She flared. "For giving myself to a boy I thought I loved at the time? What's wrong with love?"

"Marrying someone because you love them is the most ridiculous notion ever!" Her father shouted. "Love is fleeting! Pureblood marriage is about much more than _love!_ It's about forging bonds that will carry forth to your grandchildren's grandchildren! It's not about whatever you think you _feel_ at the moment!"

"And how do you expect me to produce any grandchildren?" Daphne sniped. "You're trying to marry me off to a man old enough to be my grandfather. Do you really think he can still get it up?"

Robert slapped his daughter across the face. "You will not speak that way in front of guests or your mother and sister!"

"Or what?" Daphne baited. "Their little virgin ears might shrivel off?"

"Take her out of this room at once!" Greengrass ordered the house elves.

One of them ran over to grasp Daphne's hand and snap his fingers.

They left the room with a pop.

Greengrass turned back to the stunned trio at the table and smiled. "Mr. Malfoy, I do most greatly apologize. I truly don't know what's gotten into my middle daughter. Ariadne, our eldest, she was a delightful child, and made a splendid marriage to Charles Selwyn. He assures me that she has been a perfectly suitable wife. And dear little Astoria, our little princess, has been nothing but charming and agreeable. Daphne has always been willful and ... " He shook his head. "troublesome. I do hope you won't allow this unpleasantness this evening to dissuade you from the marriage."

Draco shook his head and cleared his throat. "It would not be well done of me to hold Astoria accountable for another's actions."

"Good. Wonderful." Greengrass bobbed his head. "I also apologize for Daphne throwing herself at you. I assure you, she was raised better than to act as a whore. I don't hold you accountable for accepting what she offered, naturally, a young man ... "

"Could we not talk about this at the dinner table?" Mrs. Greengrass asked, looking very uncomfortable.

"Actually," Draco pushed back from the table with a glance at Astoria, who looked rather sick. "I think we've all lost our appetites. Perhaps it's best if I leave now, and we can try this again another evening."

"Don't feel you should rush off." Greengrass protested.

"I think it would be best if we all called it an early night and forgot about the whole thing." Draco shook his head. He walked around the table to kiss Mrs. Greengrass' hand. "Thank you again, madam, for inviting me this evening. And Astoria," he kissed her hand next. "I hope to call on you again before you leave for Hogwarts."

"Of course." She murmured, not meeting his eyes.

Robert walked Draco to the floo. "Don't worry son, Astoria may be upset at the moment, but a tonic and a good rest, and she will be fine. I assure you, this matter will be completely forgotten.

Draco nodded, thanking the man, wondering what would happen to Astoria if she didn't cower to her father's wishes all the time.

He went home, where he could hear Lorcan's laughter somewhere upstairs.

He loosened his tie and poured himself three fingers' worth of Ogdens, downing it in one shot before making his way to the nursery.

Luna had charmed Lorcan's toy dragon so that it was dancing and singing a song about a bunny named FooFoo. Lorcan giggled continuously.

"Daddy, look!" he pointed. "My dragon is singing to me."

"It certainly is." Draco dropped to sit on the carpet beside the child.

Lorcan immediately climbed into his lap.

"I'm glad you're back, Daddy. I missed you." He said, snuggling against Draco. "Did you haf a nice dinner?"

"Not really." Draco answered honestly. "I'm glad to be home."

"We had a nice dinner." Lorcan informed him. "We ate wif your mummy. She said for me to call her Grammy Cissy."

"She did?" Draco asked, stunned.

"She did." Lorcan nodded seriously.

Draco stayed in the nursery for half an hour, he and Luna both playing with Lorcan.

Just as Luna informed them that it was time for Lorcan to get his bath and get ready for bed, Narcissa came to the door.

She paused for a moment, a strange look on her face, then crossed the room to kneel beside Draco and Lorcan. "I just came to say goodnight." She smiled.

Lorcan bounced up and hugged her, which apparently startled her. "G'night Grammy Cissy." He told her, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Good night, Lorcan." Draco said, starting to rise.

"No!" Lorcan flung his arms around Draco. "I want you to help me wif my baf, Daddy!"

"Why can't Mummy help you?" Draco asked, trying to detach the little arms.

"I been wif Mummy all day. I want you now." Lorcan told him.

Draco smiled, his chest oddly tight. "All right. Just let me walk Grammy Cissy out while Mummy helps you get the water started. Then I'll be right there."

"C'mon, Mummy," Lorcan bounded over and took her hand. "You heard Daddy."

Luna let herself be led to the bathroom while Draco walked his mother out into the hall.

"Grammy Cissy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, if he's going to be around here, he's got to call me something." She gave her son a withering look.

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with my father's bastard." Draco reminded her.

"It's not the child's fault." Narcissa sighed. "He is an adorable child. And I gave your father's portrait a good dressing down, so now I do feel somewhat better about things."

Draco shook his head but didn't answer.

"The three of you make a lovely portrait of a family." She smiled sadly. "I wish things could be different."

"But they're not." He turned and walked back into the nursery.

By the time Lorcan was clean, Draco and most of the bathroom were soaked. He dried everything with a spell, then dressed Lorcan in his pajamas and carried him to his bed.

"Fro me on the bed, Daddy!" Lorcan pleaded.

Draco made a show of gently tossing the child on the bed, and then pressing the surface of the mattress with his hands to bounce Lorcan a few times, mkaing him laugh.

Lorcan asked for a story, which he read more of than Draco did. Luna then came in and kissed her son goodnight.

They tucked him in, and Draco followed Luna out into the hall.

"Good night." She said, not looking at him.

"Luna," He shoved his hand through his hair but could think of nothing to say to make the situation less awkward. "Good night."

He stomped down the hall to his room, downing a draught of Dreamless Sleep before climbing into his own bed.

At breakfast the next morning, he reminded Luna that she was to go to the attorney's office to sign the papers on the house. He told them he would have a house elf to escort them, because Draco was going to work. Lorcan was disappointed and begged Draco to stay home. Luna simply nodded and wished him a good day.

Draco attacked the pile of parchments on his desk with a vengeance, getting most of them done by lunchtime. He ate the sandwich and crisps that Melina ordered for him, flipping through the remainder of the documents on his desk.

The next was the sale contract on Luna's house. She had apparently already gone to sign everything, so the lawyer had sent the documents over for Draco's signature. He signed them all and put them in the provided envelope to be returned to the attorney.

Struck by a sudden idea, he told Melina he would be back in a little while, then walked outside and apparated to the house.

The workmen were going strong. The kitchen cabinets had already been replaced. Luna's bedroom had been painted a sunny yellow and Lorcan's was now sea blue. Several of the smaller windows had been replaced with larger ones. They had even finished the loft area above the living room, adding a huge window and skylights. Draco imagined Luna there, nestled in a pile of cushions reading or writing her articles on a sunny morning while Lorcan was with Draco.

He decided to look for a place in the Manor that he could create something similar.

The foreman came over to greet Draco. "We've already had the chimney cleaned and inspected." The man nodded. "We're going to do the porch next, and hopefully we'll get everything done today except the floors. We'll have those done tomorrow, and then you'll be all set."

Draco thanked the man, then walked through one more time.

Once he returned to his office, he sent an owl to Luna and Lorcan asking them to be ready by 5:15 that evening. He said he had something he wanted to show them, and then they could go out for dinner.

"Fish and chips." He said aloud to himself, chuckling at what he was certain would be Lorcan's suggestion.

Draco finished off all the work on his desk. He then started and tore up or burned a letter to Astoria seven times.

He finally decided they probably needed to talk in person, and ended up sending her an invitation to meet for lunch the following day.

He walked out to Melina's desk. "Please send this out by owl right away. After that, you may as well call it a day. It's five before five now."

He returned to his office, intending to fetch his traveling cloak. The thought then occurred to him that he and Luna should make a list of whatever furniture she needed. He began jotting notes don on a parchment.

The door opened, and Melina stepped in.

"It's so good to have you back, Mr. Malfoy." She purred.

"Melina, I'm sorry, but I have plans this ev ... "

He was momentarily rendered speechless when she untied the belt on her dress and shrugged her shoulders, causing the grey wool to melt into a puddle around her feet and leaving her standing in her black lacy lingerie.

He sighed and shook his head. "Melina, any other time ... "

There was a gasp from behind her.

A piping little voice asked "What happened to the lady's clothes, Daddy?"

Luna and Lorcan stood in the doorway, with Luna's hands over Lorcan's eyes.

Melina grabbed her dress and more or less covered herself with it, dashing from the room.

Draco buried his face in his hands.

"Luna, I'm ... " he began.

"I thought we would meet you here, save you the trouble of coming home and then leaving again." Luna interrupted. "Perhaps that wasn't a good idea. I don't think I'll bring Lorcan to your office any more."

Draco sighed. "Luna, it's not what it looks like. Okay, well, she wanted it to be what it looked like, but I had already told her no."

"Draco, it's not my business." She answered, not meeting his eyes.

"Well, come on, then." He stood, folding the parchment and slipping it into the pocket of his cloak, which he put on. "Let's go."

He took them outside and then sidealong apparated the three of them to Luna's house.

She gasped in delight at the wide front porch which had replaced the narrow doorstep, complete with a bench swing.

"Go check it out." Draco smiled indulgently. "I've got him." He took Lorcan's hand.

He led Lorcan through the house, pointing out the newly constructed window seat in the blue bedroom.

"What do you think of this house, Lorcan?" Draco asked him.

"It's a nice house." Lorcan nodded. "Who lives here?"

"You and your mummy are going to live here." Draco answered.

"No!" the boy shouted. "We lif at Malfoy house wif you!"

Draco knelt in front of the child. "You and Mummy are going to come live here. You can come see me whenever you want, as long as Mummy and I both know about it first and say it's all right. I'll come see you here sometimes too. Then next year, when Storie and I get married ... "

"No!" Lorcan shouted again. "You're my Daddy! We stay wif you and Storie can go 'way!"

"Lorcan, your mummy loves you and I love you and Storie loves you. You'll have all three of us." Draco tried to soothe the boy.

"But Storie doesn't want to marry you!" Lorcan insisted.

"I am going to marry Astoria. You and your mother are going to live here, and that's final." Draco told him firmly.

"No!" Lorcan's face bunched up and he began to cry. "I don't want you to be my daddy any more!"

He shoved past Draco and ran out the front door, slamming it behind him.

"Dammit!" Draco punched the nearest wall with his fist.

"He didn't take it well." Luna said unnecessarily, coming in from the kitchen.

"No." Draco shook his head. "He went out the front door. You'd better get him. I don't think he'll want to talk to me right now."

Luna nodded, crossing the room. She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. "Lorcan!" she called.

There was no answer.

"Lorcan!" She shouted again.

She turned back toward Draco, who stepped out onto the front porch. "Lorcan, you'd better answer your mother right now!"

Still nothing.

"Draco ... " Luna began, her face creasing with worry.

"Hominem revelio!" Draco shouted, casting a spell at the forest.

There was no sign of human life.

"He couldn't have gone that far." Draco muttered.

He ran all the way around the house, casting the spell in all directions.

There was still no sign of Lorcan.

"Lorcan!" they both called several times.

The child didn't answer.

"It will be dark soon." Luna looked around. "We'd better call the Aurors, get some help finding him."

Draco nodded, and walked into the house to make the floo call.

Harry Potter ad the Weasel King arrived within minutes. Six more Aurors came shortly after, and then Arthur Weasley, three of his sons, and his daughter after them.

"What are they doing here?" Draco asked, eying the Weasleys uncertainly.

"I called them." Potter announced. "They grew up around here. They know the area. I thought it was best to get as many ... "

"You're right." Draco interrupted, nodding. "Thank you. Just find him, please."

"All right then," Potter addressed the group. "We have a three year old child, blond, been missing for ... twenty minutes?" He looked at Draco and Luna, who nodded. "His name is Lorcan. We'll split up in groups of twos and threes and spread out. Ginny, you come with me ... "

"I'll go with Dad." She shook her head.

"What?" The Chosen One asked, obviously unused to being contradicted.

"Ron is your partner." She folded her arms. "I'll go with Dad."

Potter gave her a grudging smile. "All right then, Ginny with her dad." Potter paired off all of the Aurors, leaving the Weasleys to divide themselves. "Draco and Luna, the two of you stay here in case he finds his way back. If anyone finds him, shoot red sparks from your wand."

The searchers set out, lit wands held overhead.

Draco pulled Luna into his arms. "We'll find him. I swear."

She nodded. "I know."

"I'm sorry." He continued.

She drew back to look at him. "Don't. Just ... don't. It's not important."

She turned and walked halfway across the room. "You should call your mother."

He made the call.

Narcissa arrived within minutes, attended by two house elves.

Two minutes later, Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived.

"Minister." Draco shook the man's hand with a frown.

"I called him." Narcissa informed her son. "Thank you for coming, Kingsley." She walked over and kissed the man's cheek.

"Of course, anything I can do to help." The minister smiled at Narcissa.

"He used to be an Auror." Narcissa announced. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten anything just because he's behind a desk now."

"I've not forgotten a thing, ma'am." He winked at her.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"This come for Master Draco." Rinka tried to hand him an envelope.

"Not now!" he growled, pushing the house elf away.

Rinka handed it to Narcissa. "It say Urgent. Master Lucius always read things say Urgent."

Narcissa took the envelope and opened it, gasping aloud. "Draco!" She called out sharply.

"What is it?" He asked irritably.

She handed him the note, which only contained one line.

_I have your son._

"Please tell me this is a joke." He said. "It's not funny, not at all, but please."

Shacklebolt waved his wand over the parchment. "There's a Protean charm on it." He announced.

"Give me a quill!" Draco demanded.

"Here!" Shacklebolt offered Draco a black plastic tube. "Use this."

"For what?" Draco shoved it back at him. "I need a quill!"

"It's a muggle self inking quill." Shacklebolt handed it back to him. "Just take the cap off the end and you can write with it."

Draco yanked the cap off, tossing it to the floor, shoved the parchment against the wall, and wrote on it.

_Just give him back safely. I'll do anything you ask._

There was barely a pause before the answer appeared on the paper below Draco's words.

_Yes, you will._

The paper then ripped itself into shreds.


	14. Chapter 13

Draco turned to Luna, to find that his mother had conjured a settee, and the two women were now huddled together on it, the older one murmuring words of comfort.

"Red sparks?" Shacklebolt asked.

"Pardon?" Draco asked, shaking his head.

"The signal." The older man clarified. "What's the signal for the Aurors?"

"Red sparks." Draco confirmed.

Shacklebolt stepped outside to give the he returned, he came over to kneel in front of Luna.

"Did you ever have a trace put on the child?" he asked gently.

"No." She shook her head. "He never wandered off before, and those can be dangerous if applied indiscriminately. Not only do they help humans find one another, but predators can use them to track as well."

Shacklebolt clamped his lips together and didn't say anything for a moment. He then nodded his head and rose with a glance over at Draco, who stared out the window, barely controlling his fury.

A few minutes later, the groups began returning to the cabin.

"Did he come back?"

"Who found him?"

"He's all right, isn't he?"

It seemed that everyone was talking at once.

Shacklebolt clapped his hands, and the room fell silent.

"We don't have the child. We have the first contact from the kidnapper." He announced.

"What do we have?" Potter asked.

"An owl message with a Protean charm that said 'I have your son.' Draco responded that he would do whatever the kidnapper wanted to get the child back safely, the message said 'Yes you will.' and disintegrated." Shacklebolt informed them. "Who's leading this investigation?"

"I am," Potter offered. "But you're the senior ranking officer here."

"I'm inactive." Shacklebolt shrugged. "Potter, take over."

Potter stepped forward, taking the envelope from the Minister's hand. "All right, Savage and McGee get a trace on the envelope and the handwriting. Dawlish and Hanner, find the owl that delivered it. The rest of you, comb the area, look for any clues. The perp had to have been close by and watching for an opportunity to get the child alone. He or she must have touched something. I'm going to take the family back to Malfoy Manor." He pointed his wand and a silvery strand of light spun out, formed into a ball, and then bounded out the door. "Minister?" He addressed Shacklebolt.

"I'll come back to the house with you, at least until you get the command center set up." Shacklebolt nodded. "We don't know how soon the perp will make second contact. I presume you sent the patronus to Robards?"

Potter nodded.

"Very well. He'll be there shortly, I'm sure. I'll stay as long as I can, but unfortunately, someone has to run this government." Shacklebolt answered.

Upon arriving at the Manor, Shacklebolt turned to Potter. "Your first kidnapping case?"

"Yeah," Potter nodded.

"All right." Shacklebolt clapped him on the shoulder and then turned to Draco. "We'll need some place we can set up a command center. We'll need a work table, preferably in a room with a floo connection."

Draco called the elves. "Lorcan has been taken by someone. The Aurors are here to help find him."

Dimpy began to pull his ears and scream. The other three all wailed and wrung their hands.

"Stop it, all of you!" Draco commanded.

All of the elves fell silent instantly as if someone had thrown a switch.

"That's not helping anything." He continued irritably. "Rinka, Dimpy, I want the two of you to go with the Aurors to the blue sitting room. Help them set up whatever they need. I want all of you to accommodate anything they need while they're working here. Parchments, quills, food, drink, a place to take a nap, whatever they need, take care of it." He waved his hands, indicating they should get started.

Rinka and Dimpy led Potter and Shacklebolt to the blue sitting room, while the other two popped away, probably back to the kitchen.

Draco turned around. His mother stood by the fireplace, her arms around herself. Luna stood in the middle of the room, face totally blank.

He walked over and took her hand, tipping her head up with his other hand so that she looked up at him.

"I promise you, we will get him back. No matter what they want, no matter what it takes, we will get him back." He vowed.

She nodded. "He's going to be frightened."

"He probably will be." Draco agreed. "But we'll get him back, and everything will be fine."

The floo flared to life, and Chief Auror Robards came through with two other Aurors. Draco showed them to the room where Potter and Shacklebolt were working, then returned to the main parlour with Luna and his mother.

"None of us has had any dinner." Narcissa fretted.

"I really don't want anything." Draco shook his head.

"Thank you, but I don't either." Luna agreed.

"You have to eat." Narcissa insisted. "We have to stay strong so we can do whatever we need to do to help Lorcan."

She called Rinka and asked for a tray of light refreshments.

Robards, Proudfoot, and Potter returned to the room just as the floo lit up green again.

Molly Weasley stepped through.

"Oh, the poor love," she moaned, throwing her arms around Luna. "Oh dear, we'll do everything we can. We should have known something like this would happen when he came into the picture." She turned and shot Draco a scathing look. "Harry and Ron will find him, dear. And if the Aurors don't get to whoever did this before I do ... "

"Molly," Potter stepped over and wrestled the woman off Luna. "Luna taught Lorcan how to floo call you in case of emergency. Maybe it would be best if you stayed close to home, you know, in case he was able to slip away from his captors ... "

"Oh, you're right of course," She clapped her hand to her cheek. "I should have thought of that. I'll get right home and stay by the floo. You'll call me as soon as you hear anything, of course?" Potter nodded. "And Luna, dear, anything you need, you just let us know."

She climbed back into the floo, waving before she disappeared into the green flames.

"Thank you for that." Draco sighed.

Potter nodded. "She can be a bit much sometimes if you're not used to her. She's even a bit much if you are used to her."

"All right," Robards began. "We're going to need to talk to the parents, as well as anyone else who saw the child today. I need the two of you to start thinking of anyone who might bear you a grudge, anyone who would have reason to do anything to hurt you. We can't rule out the possibility it could have been a crime of opportunity, that someone was just in the right place at the right time to take the child. I've already contacted the contractor for a list of all of their employees who have been to the job site."

The Aurors split up the family members, with Robards taking Draco, Proudfoot taking Luna, and Potter taking Narcissa each to a separate room.

After what seemed like days of repeating the same answers to the same questions over and over and making lists of anyone and everyone Draco had ever crossed who was still alive, he was finally allowed to return to the parlour. Luna and Narcissa were already back.

Robards promised to keep them posted, and returned to the command center.

Narcissa forced her son to choke down about half a sandwich. He mostly paced the room, occasionally throwing himself into a chair and scowling at the fire before the nervous energy caught up with him and he began to prowl again.

An hour later, Robards came to check in.

"The only ones we've definitely eliminated as suspects so far are the Greengrass family. Apparently, Daphne cut her wrists earlier today. She was taken to St Mungo's. Her parents and sister went with, of course. Aurors and healers have been in and out of the room all day. The oldest sister and her family are on their way back from holiday in Thailand. They've made several floo calls to the Ministry trying to get a portkey. The secretary you ticked off," Robards flipped open his notebook. "Melina Betancourt, claims to have met some friends at a pub after she left the office, but we're waiting on confirmation. We don't believe it's Death Eater related at this point. There was no Dark Mark, no artefacts left at the scene, nothing to draw attention to their cause. Of course we're still checking all possibilities, but at this point, our best hope is that the perp will contact you again soon."

Draco thanked him for his efforts, and Robards headed back down the hall.

Ten minutes later, the floo lit up again, and Astoria came through.

"Any word?" She asked, taking Draco's offered hand to step out of the fireplace.

"No." He shook his head. "How's Daphne?"

"She'll be fine, physically." Astoria gave a tight smile.

"But?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

She looked nervously toward Luna and Narcissa.

"We're just concerned." Narcissa assured. "We wouldn't think of repeating any of this."

Astoria nodded and sighed. "The mind healer wants her to stay a few days or a week and have some treatment. Father says she's just being a willful brat and she'll learn her proper place once she's married and she had just best hope that this doesn't dissuade Carrow from the engagement. Daphne says she would kill herself and make sure she gets it right next time before she marries that old ... well, she wasn't very ... kind in her words."

Draco snorted. "I'm sure she wasn't."

"And Malcolm Preece came to hospital to see about her." Astoria added. "That certainly didn't help anything. Father nearly worked himself into a seizure."

"I can imagine." Draco agreed.

A silence fell, until Draco took Astoria's arm and gently led her to the other side of the room. "Look," he shoved his hand through his hair. "My history with Daphne ... we were sixteen, and I didn't realize until last night how differently we saw things. I ... "

She shook her head. "You don't have to apologize to me. And I do believe that Daphne probably read more into the situation than was ever intended. I just hope we can convince Father to let her get some help dealing with her issues before we are married. Otherwise, I'm afraid of what she may do."

"Maybe that's the angle that you should take to try to convince your father." Draco agreed. "I'll do whatever I can, but at the moment ... "

"Yes, you have to put Lorcan as your first priority." She acknowledged. "I'd better get back before they come looking for me. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No." He shook his head. "We're just waiting for the kidnapper to contact us again. Thank you for coming."

He walked her back over to where Narcissa and Luna sat. Astoria repeated her offer of any help she could offer to the ladies, who also both thanked her for coming and admitted there wasn't much she could do.

Draco escorted her back to the fireplace and saw her away with a kiss on her hand. He then came back and sat beside Luna, taking her hand.

"You're really something, you know that?" He told her. "I've only had Lorcan in my life such a short time and I'm coming apart. You've had him ever since he existed, and you're holding it together."

"I just believe we're going to find him, and he will be all right." She shrugged. "I can't let myself think anything else."

"You're stronger than anyone else I've ever known." he continued. "Even when you were here, in the cellar, I'd come down to bring food and you'd ask me how I was holding up."

"You don't know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." She answered softly.

"Well, my strength has been put to the test several times, and I soundly failed." He huffed.

"Strength isn't always standing firm." She told him. "Sometimes it means that you bend enough that you don't break."

"I didn't bend." He shook his head. "And I didn't just break. I shattered."

"Sometimes strength is getting back up afterwards, picking up the pieces, and going on." She replied.

He stood abruptly and walked over to lean his head against the mantle. "Don't try to make me some kind of hero, Luna, because I'm not."

"I wouldn't say you were the villain, either." Luna said. "I think you were just someone who did the best he could under the circumstances, which is all anyone can ask of themselves."

He snorted. "I don't like being analyzed on a good day. And this is not a good day."

"Well, what would you like to talk about, then?" She asked. "This month's edition of the Scamander Sentinel has a fascinating article on the nesting habits of limaxes."

"I don't want to talk right now." He snapped. "I just want to be."

"I can do that too." Luna answered, and then fell silent.

Shackelbolt bid them goodnight about ten, stating that he had to get some rest to be at work in the morning, but to please keep him informed and that he also would do anything he could to help. He shook Draco's hand, then Luna's hand, then kissed Narcissa's hand, much to Draco's aggravation.

"Don't alienate the Minister." His mother warned as the green flames faded.

"Could he be any more obvious about his flirting?" Draco growled. "Your husband has been dead two weeks. It's completely indecent."

"He's been nothing but a perfect gentleman." Narcissa frowned.

"Right up until he starts humping your leg." Draco seethed.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy!" his mother reprimanded.

"Right. I'll shut up now." Draco grumbled.

Shortly before midnight, an owl arrived with a package for Draco. There was no return address. The Aurors nabbed the owl before it could take off, but it turned out to be from the owl post in Diagon Alley, the same as the previous owl. The Aurors performed nearly a dozen tests and spells on the package before finally declaring it safe to open.

Inside was a small grey plastic object.

"It's a muggle cellular phone." Potter explained.

Draco huffed in annoyance. "I've seen one before."

"Have you ever used on before?" Robards asked.

"No." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Actually this might be significant." Potter suggested. "Someone who's familiar with our system would know this would probably be the hardest form of communication for us to trace."

"Pete Windham." Draco said suddenly, jumping to his feet.

"You know Pete Windham?" Robards frowned at him.

"Who's Pete Windham?" Potter and Luna both asked.

"He's a squib who's a detective with the muggle police force in London." Robards answered. "He helps us out a lot."

"He's Marcus Flint's cousin." Draco nodded.

"I didn't realize you would associate with a squib." Potter raised an eyebrow.

"I've found there are times that it's handy to know someone on the other side." Draco narrowed his eyes. "What business is it of yours?"

"Gentlemen." Robards raised a hand in warning. "You're right." He told Draco. "Pete could probably help us on this."

Robards took the phone and started to leave the room.

"Wait!" Draco grabbed his arm. "I think I need that." He pointed at the phone.

"Let us have a few minutes to check some things on it first. The kidnapper isn't going to call right away, because he's going to wait a while to make sure you got the phone."

Robards and Potter returned ten minutes later. Both Draco and Luna jumped to their feet.

"There's nothing I can tell you from the phone itself." Robards shrugged. "No magic has been used on it. No trace or anything like that. I've got a message out to Windham to see if we can get a trace on this phone number. Until we hear back from the muggle police, all we can do is wait for him ... or her ... to call. I suggest the two of you get some rest."

"You can't honestly expect us to sleep knowing that the kidnapper could call at any moment." Draco folded his arms in annoyance.

"I've been doing this long enough that I'll bet you knuts to galleons and let you hold the odds that the kidnapper doesn't call before dawn." Robards informed them. "He's probably in his bed, sound asleep, knowing he has you all worked up. That's what he wants. He wants you tense, tired, and not at full capacity. In that state of mind, you'll make mistakes, and you'll be less likely to recognize little things that could tip you off to his identity."

"I don't care who he is!" Draco nearly shouted. "I just want Lorcan back! I'll pay whatever he wants, and he can go spend it wherever he wants, as long as he just gives Lorcan back safely."

The two Aurors exchanged a look.

Potter gestured to the settee. "You'd better sit down and talk about this a bit more."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, sitting and tilting her head up at the Aurors curiously.

Robards waited until Draco sat beside Luna, and then seated himself in the chair across from them. Potter leaned against the side of the back of the chair.

"We need to be realistic about this." Robards began. "First of all, you have to consider what you're doing here. If you pay this ransom and let the kidnapper get away, you're setting yourself up for this happening again. Either the same kidnapper, or someone else, could get the brilliant idea that the way to access the Malfoy vaults is to take the child, or threaten to take him. Secondly, once you pay the kidnapper, you have no guarantee that he's going to give Lorcan back. In fact, chances are good that he won't. The fewer people who see his face, the better his chances of getting away are."

The colour drained from Draco's face. "So what are you saying?" He demanded. "Are you telling me not to pay, because we're not going to get him back anyway?"

Luna made a sound that sounded like a choking sob.

Draco reached over and took her hand while still glaring at Robards.

"Not at all." Robards shook his head. "I'm saying we need to make sure we catch this guy, before any kind of ransom drop, or as soon as possible afterwards. That's your best chance of getting Lorcan back, and that's our best bet for keeping him safe in the future."

Draco nodded, but didn't look relieved.

"Well then, try to get some rest so you can be sharp when the kidnapper calls." Robards nodded and rose.

"Seriously?" Draco snorted. "You drop something like that on us and expect us to sleep now?"

"I'm sorry." Robards gestured vaguely with his hands. "But you needed to know how things are. And you need to rest now, for Lorcan's sake."

Potter and Robards left the room.

Narcissa stood. "I'm going upstairs, and take half a dose of Dreamless Sleep. If anything happens, send an elf with Pepper Up potion."

Draco and Luna both nodded, murmuring their goodnights to her.

"I'm not going upstairs." Draco shook his head. "And I'm not taking anything. I don't want to take any chances in case the kidnapper calls."

Luna nodded. "Me too. Lorcan is going to be afraid. He's never slept without Snorkack in his life."

Draco leaned his head against the back of the sofa, slipped his shoes off, and propped his feet on the coffee table. "He'll want to sleep with one of us for a week when he gets back."

"Did he sleep with you while I was in the hospital?" Luna frowned.

Draco nodded. "That was probably the most difficult part of taking care of him. He wet the bed the first night, because I didn't know I was supposed to send him to the bathroom at bedtime. The second night, I woke with a foot on my face."

She smiled sadly. "He sometimes wakes up with his feet on the pillow and his head at the other end. Or once I found him with his head on the floor and his legs still on the bed."

"I can believe that." Draco half smiled back at her. "I had no idea how much a child that size could eat."

"He eats well, mostly." She agreed. "Of course, he runs a lot of it off, but he's tall for his age, according to the healer."

"Healer?" He questioned. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no." She assured. "You know, children have to go for their immunization potions and well check visits and all."

"No, actually I don't know." Draco shrugged. "He's the only child I've ever been around, really."

"He goes twice a year, just for checkups and preventatives, unless he gets sick in between." She said. "But he rarely does. He's been amazingly healthy."

"That's good." Draco nodded. "He's going to be mad that he didn't get to go for fish and chips."

"Probably." Luna put her feet up beside Draco's on the table. "But he could probably be bought off with the promise of more fish and chips."

"And a chocolate frog." Draco offered. "We may have to bribe him with a chocolate frog."

"Did you really buy him every Thomas the Tank Engine train they make?" She asked.

"All of them that Trinkets and Trifles had, anyway." Draco shrugged. "I think it's all of them."

"That's too much, Draco." She sighed. "He didn't need all of them."

"Well, as my father just proved, you can't take your money with you." He glanced over at her. "Why not spend it on him?"

"Because I don't want him to grow up with a feeling on entitlement, or to expect to just be given everything without working for it." She answered.

"Like me, you mean?" He grinned ruefully.

"I didn't say that." She shook her head, but a hint of a smile played around her mouth.

"Fine, then consider it three years' worth of Christmas and birthday presents." Draco leaned his head back again and closed his eyes.

"But if you got him all the trains now, what will you get him for his birthday and Christmas this year?" Luna asked, yawning.

"A broom?" He suggested.

She sighed.

"What?" He opened one eye to look at the top of her head. "I had a broom from practically the time I was old enough to stand up."

"Yes, but my father died on a broom." She said softly.

He clapped his hand over his eyes. "Merlin, Luna. I'm sorry. I forgot about that."

"I know I shouldn't let that hold him back, that one day he will be old enough to go to Hogwarts and he's going to learn to fly, but the thought of him on a broom just makes me nervous. Especially since I don't fly well." She slipped her shoes off and tucked her feet under her.

"I'll teach him to fly. And I'll make sure I teach him safety and control. We'll make sure he understands that if either of us see him do anything dangerous, he's grounded. Literally." Draco promised.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "You know, Lorcan is right. I think you will make a pretty good daddy."

"I've told him ... " He looked down at her, but she was asleep.

He transfigured his cloak that was thrown over the back of the chair into a blanket, draped it over the two of them, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Draco was awakened by the most irritating noise he had ever heard in his life.

He cracked his eyes open just enough to see a tangle of blonde curls.

He tried to raise his hand to his face, but it was apparently entangled with the owner of the blonde curls.

He yanked his arm free, blinking several times until the scene came somewhat into focus.

He had been sleeping on the sofa in the parlour with Luna Lovegood while six Aurors stood over them.

Before he could wrap his sleep muddled mind around whatever was going on, Harry Bloody Potter shouted in his face.

"Come on, Malfoy! You've got to answer it! It has to be the kidnapper!"

Instantly everything made sense.

He grabbed for the phone in Potter's hand, but Robards shook his head, pressed a finger to his lips to warn everyone to be quiet, and pressed some button on the phone. He held it out away from Draco's head.

"Hello!" Draco barked in the general direction of the phone.

"Malfoy." a smooth, definitely male, voice answered him. "I have something, or should I say, some_one_, who belongs to you."

"Let me speak to Lorcan!" Draco demanded. "I'm not going any further with you until I know he's all right!"

There was a jostling sound on the other end, and then a small voice said "Daddy?"

Draco sagged in relief, and Luna put her hands over her mouth to keep from crying out.

"I'm here, Lorcan. Mummy is here with me." Draco said. "Are you all right?"

"I don't like it here, Daddy." Lorcan answered. "It's cold and I'm hungry and I'm scared and I wanna go home. I wetted my pants but I didn't mean to cause there's no bafroom here."

"It's okay." Draco assured. "I'm not mad. I just want the man to bring you home. Where are you?"

There was more rustling on the other end of the line, and the original voice returned. "There. He's fine."

Lorcan began wailing in the background. "I wan' talk to my daddy and mummy. I wan' go home! I don't like you!"

"Shut up and let me talk to your daddy so you can go home!" the voice shouted.

"He wants to come home." the man said into the phone. "You want him to come home. So let's make a deal, shall we?"

"Stop being mean to him!" Draco ordered. "He's just a child, and he's scared. Feed him and take care of him, and I'll do whatever you want."

"Oh, you'll do what I want." the man laughed. "Whether I take care of him or not. You want him fed? Do what I ask, and you can have him back. Then you can feed him whatever you want."

"What do you want, then?" Draco huffed.

"I want one million galleons, converted to muggle money." was the reply.

"Are you completely mad?" Draco scoffed. "Do you know how long it would take to get that done?"

"Gringotts should have at least half a million in muggle money readily available to exchange. If they don't have enough, I suggest contacting Possédantes in Paris or Pecuniams in Zurich. Your family has vaults at both, do they not?" The voice offered.

"How soon do I need to have it?" Draco asked.

"The sooner you get it, the sooner you can have your mini me back." The voice chuckled. "I'll call you back in three hours. Be prepared to tell me how soon you can have the full amount."

There was a click, and the call disconnected.

Robards handed the phone to Proudfoot. "Go call Windham, see if he can get anything on the number the kidnapper was calling from."

"Did you find out anything about the phone?" Draco asked.

"It's a prepaid model." Robards shrugged. "The name and address given when it was purchased and activated were fake, of course. I want you to floo call Gringotts and ask how soon you can get the money. I don't plan on actually making a ransom drop, but we have to let the kidnapper think you're serious. He may have someone on the inside at Gringotts to tell him whether you've been in contact with the bank."

Draco nodded and stood. "I want you to understand, if it comes to it, I will pay the ransom. I don't care about the money. I just want Lorcan back."

"You remember our conversation last night?" Robards folded his arms, looking annoyed.

"Yes, but did you not hear MY CHILD say he was cold and hungry and scared?" Draco growled.

"We'll get him back." Potter assured, sitting down and putting his arm around Luna.

Draco placed the floo call, asking to speak to the manager.

Once he was connected, he asked the head goblin how soon he could get a million galleons converted to muggle money.

"Pounds, Euros, American dollars, Australian dollars, ... " the goblin gestured.

"Any. All. Whichever you can get me fastest." Draco shrugged.

"If you're willing to take a combination of all of the above, we can have it by three this afternoon." The goblin answered.

"Great. Do it." Draco instructed, and signed off.

"Now." Robards began once the floo call ended. "It basically has to be someone you know. He knew where your family banks. Did you recognize the voice, or any sounds in the background?"

Draco thought for a moment. "His voice actually was familiar, but I can't place it."

"Think hard. This is really, really important." Potter advised.

"Do you honestly think I don't know that?" Draco shouted, stomping closer to the Boy Wonder.

"Easy." Robards grabbed Draco's arm. "I know this is a stressful situation, but it won't help Lorcan to lose our heads."

Proudfoot came into the room.

"You look way too happy." Robards commented. "What do you have?"

"I _love_ muggle techology." Proudfoot grinned.

"Did you get a trace on the number that called?" Robards asked.

"No, it was another prepaid cell phone, registered to the same bogus name and address." Proudfoot replied nonchalantly. "But. Windham was able to trace the store where they were sold, and they have video surveillance cameras."


	15. Chapter 14

Within minutes, Draco and Luna found themselves in a conference room in a muggle police station in London.

A tall, stocky built man with spiky dark hair came in and shook Draco's hand. "Malfoy. Good to see you. Just wish it could have been under better circumstances."

"Windham." Draco nodded. "If everything goes well, call me and we'll get together for a butterbeer next week." He gestured toward Luna. "Luna Lovegood. Detective Peter Windham. She's Lorcan's mother."

Pete and Luna murmured their greetings, and he offered Draco and Luna chairs in front of a black plastic box. Windham stood to one side, and the Aurors took positions behind Draco and Luna.

"We were fortunate that this store has cameras at the entrance, and one over the sales counter, all with times and dates imposed on the images. If I've matched up the time of the sale correctly, this is our man." Windham pressed a button on something similar to a cell phone that he held in his hand, and the box was suddenly covered with a male's picture.

"I know him." Draco confirmed. "He was one of my father's attorneys. Roderick Greystone." He thought for a moment. "I think it was his voice on the phone. I'm not positive, I haven't talked to the man in several years, but I think it could be."

"Why would he take Lorcan?" Luna asked.

"No idea." Draco shrugged.

"We're going with this suspect until evidence rules him out." Robards announced. "Savage, I want a list of every property he owns. I want to know about properties his family members own, anything he could have access to. Potter, I want a vehicle list. If he has a broom, an automobile, a boat, a bicycle, or a flying carpet, I want someone's eyes on it."

"Right, sir." Potter nodded and took off.

"I'll put out an an All Points Bulletin for Greystone and a Be On The Lookout for Lorcan. I'll say it's a kidnapping from another jurisdiction, believed to be in the area." Windham offered.

"Thanks. Again." Robards shook the muggle detective's hand.

"Yes, thank you." Luna smiled at him.

"We'll do everything we can to get your son back." Windham assured her.

"Thank you, Pete." Draco shook his hand as well before the man left the room.

"Come along, then." Robards herded Draco and Luna toward the door. "We'll take the two of you back to the house and wait for Greystone to call."

Draco slipped his arm around Luna's waist and followed Robards back to the alley so they could apparate back to the Manor.

"At least we know it's not a Death Eater that has him." Draco whispered into her hair. "That means we have a better chance of getting him back."

She nodded, her lips pressed together tightly, trying to hold onto her composure.

When they arrived back at the Manor, Luna murmured something and slipped off toward the stairs.

"What did you find out?" Narcissa asked when Draco returned to the parlour.

"It's Roderick Greystone." Draco told her. "They have pictures of him buying the phones."

"Greystone?" She frowned. "Why?"

"Don't know." Draco shook his head. "But at least it's not a Death Eater."

"That is good news, I suppose." Narcissa sat down beside her son, taking his hand. "I'm sure they're trying to find him."

Draco nodded. "The Aurors are compiling a list of any properties he owns, and checking for any forms of transportation so they can locate him. They've even had the muggle authorities notified to look for him."

"Well then, we just have to wait for them to find him and then find Lorcan." She patted his hand and stood. "I'd better go check on things in the kitchen, make sure the elves are preparing enough for the Aurors."

She left them room, her skirts swishing gently in the silence.

He stared into the fire, until Luna sat down beside him.

She cradled Lorcan's bedraggled Snorkack.

"When we find him, he's going to want this." She said, her voice oddly hollow.

"We will find him." Draco promised, pulling her against his side.

She nodded. "I ... "

She broke off as they both heard that annoying mechanical music from somewhere down the hall.

Robards ran in, holding the cell phone in front of him, three more Aurors just behind him.

"Answer him, but you can't let him know that you suspect who he is." Robards instructed rapidly. "Lorcan's life could depend on it."

Draco nodded, so one of the Aurors pressed the button, and then held the phone out so they all could hear.

"Hello?" Draco said, hoping he sounded somewhat normal.

"Malfoy." The same voice replied smoothly.

"Yes." Draco ground out.

"What did you find out from the banks?" the voice continued.

"Gringotts said if you were willing to take a combination of pounds, euros, American dollars, and Australian dollars, they could have the money for me this afternoon. I told them to go ahead and make the arrangements." Draco answered.

"Very good." the voice chuckled. "I guess you are teachable, after all. I'll call you back at five to make arrangements for our exchange."

"Wait!" Draco shouted. "Let me talk to Lorcan again."

"If you want to talk to him, you'll do as I tell you." The voice informed him before disconnecting with a click.

"Proudfoot, call Windham. See if he's got anything on tracing the cell tower." Robards instructed.

The Aurors all left and went down the hall, with Robards still spouting orders.

Draco looked over at Luna, realizing she seemed to have folded in on herself.

"What is it?" he asked gently, tipping her face up to look at him.

"What if the reason the man wouldn't let you talk to Lorcan is because ... " her voice broke, choking on tears.

"NO!" Draco shouted. He pulled her close to him and continued in a softer voice. "No, he's just being a dick. You heard what Robards said. He wants to keep us upset and off kilter. Lorcan is fine. He has to be."

"If anything happened to him ... " She shook her head.

"No, Luna." he pleaded. "You have to hold it together now, because you're the strongest person I know, and if you fall apart... " He trailed off, dangerously close to tears himself.

"We'll hold each other together." She said, pulling Draco over to sit by her on the sofa.

They sat together in silence, arms around each other for quite a time, until Narcissa came in, followed by a house elf bearing a tray.

"The two of you have to eat." She announced.

They all took tea. Draco nibbled on a croissant, and Luna took a few bites of a scone under Narcissa's insistence.

They were still pretending to eat when the floo flared and Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped through.

"I can only stay a moment. I have a meeting to get to." He announced. "But I wanted to see if there was anything I could do. Robards is keeping me briefed on the case, of course."

"I wish there were." Narcissa smiled sadly. "We're just waiting, to see if the kidnapper contacts us again, or if the Aurors find him first."

The Minister nodded. "Anything I can do. You know that."

"Thank you." Narcissa murmured demurely.

Shacklebolt kissed her hand again, then shook Draco's and Luna's hands before stepping back into the fireplace.

Less than a minute after he left, Astoria arrived.

Draco guiltily scooted away from Luna, and Narcissa offered tea and refreshments.

"I came to see if there was any word." She said unnecessarily, sitting down across from Draco and Luna.

"The kidnapper called and asked for money. He let us speak to Lorcan, who said he was cold and hungry and afraid and wanted to come home. The Aurors think they know who it is. One of my father's attorneys. They're tracking him at the moment. The kidnapper said he would call back at five to make arrangements for the exchange."

"Do you want me to stay?" Astoria offered.

Draco looked at her curiously. "Stay?"

"I mean, I'm supposed to leave the day after tomorrow to go back to Hogwarts." She explained, blushing. "Do you want me to stay, until everything is ... resolved?"

"Thank you, but no." Draco shook his head. "You're already behind in your studies. There's not much you can do here, unfortunately. Everything should be resolved by the time you leave, either the Aurors will find the kidnapper and find Lorcan, or we will make the ransom exchange. If for any reason everything isn't settled, I'll keep you informed of course."

"Yes," She nodded, looking away. "I won't stay. I didn't mean to intrude." She looked over at Luna. "Please know that if there's anything I can do ... "

"Thank you." Luna nodded and smiled. "How is Daphne?"

Draco mentally kicked himself for not asking sooner.

"She repeated her threat to try again if Father insisted on pursuing the Carrow match, in front of a healer this time." Astoria sighed. "They've said they won't let her go home until she's stable, in their words. Father is absolutely livid. But for the moment, they've said no visitors for her, which means he can't come down there and shout at her in person."

'Maybe that will help diffuse the situation." Draco nodded.

"I really ... " Astoria began, but was cut off by Aurors running into the room.

"We've got him!" Robards shouted.

"Lorcan?" Draco and Luna both asked, jumping up.

"No, Greystone." Robards shook his head. "But as soon as we can get him to headquarters and some Veritaserum down his throat, we'll know where Lorcan is."

"I'm coming." Draco followed the man to the floo.

Luna and Astoria didn't speak, but lined up at the floo as well.

"As soon as I'm dressed, I'll be there." Narcissa headed out the hall door.

The group from the Manor arrived at Auror headquarters first.

"Windham had tracked the cell phone signal to a tower just outside Diagon Alley. Potter found out Greystone had an automobile garaged in the area, so we put everyone in that area. Sure enough, Potter and Weasley spotted him, called for backup, and he's been arrested."

Just as he finished his sentence, the floo lit up. Two Aurors stepped through, followed by Potter and Weasley with the prisoner, and two more Aurors behind them.

Everyone was shouting at once as Greystone was wrestled into a chair and restrained. Weasley put a vial into Potter's hand as Savage tipped the prisoner's head back and McGee pulled his chin to open his mouth. Potter poured the liquid into the prisoner's mouth as three wands were pointed at him.

"Don't you dare spit it out!" Weasley shouted.

Greystone choked a bit, but swallowed the truth serum. The other Aurors stepped back as Robards moved to stand knee to knee with the prisoner.

"Is Lorcan all right?" He shouted at the prisoner.

Greystone shrugged. "He was okay this morning when I left him."

"Did you leave him any food or water?" Robards snapped.

"No." Greystone answered, giving Draco a venomous glare.

"Where is the child?" he demanded.

Greystone seemed to struggle for a moment, apparently trying to resist the effect of the potion. "He's in a garden shed, at a property the Malfoy family owns in Derbyshire Dales. It's been empty for decades. It's near the Forest of High Peak, called Peverel Abbey."

"Are there any booby traps on the shed or the property?" Robards asked.

Again Greystone seemed to hesitate before replying. "No. I told the kid the door would burn him if he tried to open it, but it's just locked with a standard Colloportus."

"Finish the questioning." Robards nodded to Potter. "I'm going to get the kid."

"I'm going with you." Draco moved toward the floo.

Robards drew up short. "Malfoy, we don't know what we're walking into here. You may not want to see what we find."

"I _lived_ with Voldemort." Draco reminded them. "It can't be any worse than things I've seen before."

"But it's different when it's your child." Robards pointed out.

"Yes, it's my child." Draco said, barely controlling his temper. "He's scared and cold and hungry and if a bunch of Aurors come bursting in there it's going to frighten him even more. I'm going to get him."

Greystone gagged.

"Look at that." Potter held up the Veritaserum bottle with a smirk. "That vial of truth serum Ron handed me? It was the concentrated version, you know before we dilute it four to one. And I gave him a whole vial. Looks like we're going to have to move questioning to the loo."

"Nah, I'll just get him a cauldron to throw up into." Ron called over his shoulder as he walked toward the closet. "And another one, for when he fills that up."

"I'm his mother." Luna addressed the head Auror. "And I have his Snorkack." She held up the pitiful stuffed animal. "I'm coming too."

"I'm soon to be his stepmother." Astoria chimed in. "And I have medical training."

"Fine!" Robards threw up his hands. "Proudfoot, Hanner, come with me."

They flooed up to the main level, the fastest way to get to the designated apparation points.

They landed in Derbyshire Dales in cold, stinging rain. Draco immediately cast a Point Me charm for the shed.

"Not bad." Robards nodded appreciatively. "We could make an Auror of you, I think."

"Oh please." Draco rolled his eyes, and ran toward the direction indicated.

Thanks to the long legs he inherited from the Malfoy side of the family, Draco reached the shed first. It was a weathered old wooden structure with no windows, with a slanted, rusty metal roof.

"Lorcan!" Draco shouted.

"Daddy?" came a small voice from inside.

"Stand back, I'm going to unlock the door!" Draco instructed. He pointed his wand and muttered "Alohamora."

The lock turned with a whining scrape. Draco turned the handle and pushed on the door, but it didn't open.

"It's probably warped from the moisture." Robards suggested. "A mild Reductor ... "

Draco and Luna both threw their weight against the door, causing the frame around the doorknob area to splinter.

"Or that might work." Hanner laughed.

"Daddy?" Lorcan's voice, pitifully tiny and frightened, called out.

"Lumos Maxima!" Draco shouted, bathing the small room in light.

Lorcan huddled against the back corner until he saw his parents. "Daddy! Mummy!" He cried, flinging himself forward.

Draco scooped the child up and held him against his chest.

Lorcan wrapped his little arms around Draco's neck. "I knew you would come for me, Daddy."

Luna put her arms around both of them, kissing Lorcan's cheek with tears streaming down her face. "Oh, baby."

"I luf you Mummy."

"Let me in there so I can check him over." Astoria tugged at Draco's cloak.

He handed Lorcan to Luna and stepped back while Astoria cast diagnostic spells.

"He's all right, mostly." She pronounced. "Dehydrated, mild hypothermia. Nothing that can't be fixed straightaway." She kissed Lorcan's cheek and ruffled his hair. "We're very glad to have you back safely, little man."

Draco reached out and placed a hand on Locan's back. For some reason, he just wanted to keep touching the child to make sure he was real.

"Take him to St Mungo's." Robards instructed. "We'll do a little site work here, and then I'm sure we'll be down there later with some more questions."

"Thank you." Draco nodded, herding his family out the door.

He put one arm around Luna and one around Astoria, who held onto each other, making a circle with Lorcan in the middle, and apparated the group to St Mungo's.

* * *

A/N - It's not over. Close, but not yet. :)


	16. Chapter 15

Someone had apparently alerted St. Mungo's that they were coming, because they were met at the lift by a healer and two mediwitches, who rushed Lorcan back to an exam room.

"I'm sorry," one of the mediwtiches said as they reached the door. "Only one parent allowed in with him right now."

Draco sighed and nodded, relinquishing Lorcan to Luna.

"No!" the child shrieked. "I want my daddy and my Storie!"

"We'll be right here, Lorcan." Draco assured. "We'll wait right outside until the healer says we can come back in."

"I don' wan' my daddy to leave me." The boy wailed.

"I won't leave you." Draco squeezed his hand. "I promise I'll be right here."

The door closed behind them, and Draco leaned against the wall, head forward with his chin against his chest, and his eyes closed. Astoria stood beside him and took his hand.

"It's all over." She whispered. "We got him back."

He raised his head and smiled at her. "Yeah, we did."

"Everyone's okay." She murmured. "That's all that matters. He's strong. He'll get through this."

"Thank you for being here." He said softly.

She nodded, and they waited in silence for the longest ten minutes of their lives, until the door opened and the healer stepped out.

"He'll be fine." The healer assured. "We're going to bring up his body temperature gradually, and of course, he's starving. We'd like to keep him overnight for observation, just to make sure there weren't any malicious spells used. He'll probably sleep a good bit of that time, and then he can go home tomorrow. He's had a rather frightening experience, but he's young. Give him some time, give him a lot of love, and I think he'll do just fine. You can see him now."

They thanked the healer and went into the room. Lorcan was bundled into the bed, with Luna by his side.

"I was scared, Daddy, but I knew you would save me." Lorcan told him. "You and Mummy always take good care of me and I knew you wouldn't let the bad man have me."

"This is why you shouldn't ever run off from Mummy or me." Draco told him seriously. "Not even to go to Mr. Ollivander. Bad things happen to little boys who run off."

Lorcan held out his little finger. "I promise."

Draco looked confused for a moment, until Luna held out her finger as well and shook fingers with Lorcan. "You've never seen that before?" she asked. "It's a promise binding spell for children."

"Ohhhhhh." Draco nodded and shook pinkies with Lorcan. "Promise Storie too, in case you're somewhere with her."

Lorcan obediently repeated his promise, making Astoria bite her lip to keep from giggling.

Draco looked confused for a moment, until Luna held out her finger as well and shook fingers with Lorcan. "You've never seen that before?" she asked. "It's a promise binding spell for children."

"Ohhhhhh." Draco nodded and shook pinkies with Lorcan. "Promise Storie too, in case you're somewhere with her."

Lorcan obediently repeated his promise, making Astoria bite her lip to keep from giggling.

She smiled at Draco and Luna. "I'm sorry, but I'd better get home before someone comes looking for me."

Draco turned and reached for her. She turned her head so that his kiss landed on her cheek rather than her lips. "Thank you for coming." He murmured.

"Let me know if you need anything." She told them. She walked over and squeezed Lorcan's hand. "You be a good boy, and I'll see you again soon."

He leaned over and threw his arms around he waist. "I luf you Storie."

She bit her lip and fluffed his hair, putting her arm around him. "I love you too, kiddo."

"When are you going back to school?" Luna asked softly.

"The day after tomorrow." Storie answered, suddenly shy. "I'll be in touch before I leave."

"I hope so." Luna smiled at her.

Astoria smiled at all of them, and left the room.

"Storie doesn't want to marry you, Daddy." Lorcan repeated hoarsely.

"It wouldn't be terrible if she did, would it?" Draco asked. "You just told her you loved her. She was very worried about you."

"I do luf Storie." Lorcan nodded. "But she doesn't want to marry you."

"Then let's talk about something else." Draco shook his head. "What happened when the man took you?"

Lorcan's eyes widened. "It was scary Daddy. The bad man grabbed me and made me quiet and lock-ded me in the little house. He lefted me there all night and it was dark and it was cold and he didn't give me any food. Then he comed back in the morning and made me talk to you on the phone. He said he would give me breakfast after I talked to you but he went away and he didn't give me anything."

"Uncle Harry got him and he's in jail now." Draco sat down by the bed. "He won't ever hurt you again."

"I know." Lorcan nodded. "Mummy told me. But I knew you wouldn't let anyone keep me, Daddy."

"I never would." Draco promised. "I would never let anyone take you from Mummy and me."

There was a soft tap at the door, and Narcissa came in, escorted by Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Hey Grammy Cissy!" Lorcan grinned.

"Hello love." She greeted him. "I brought you chocolate frogs."

"After you've had your lunch." Luna nodded. "The mediwitch said she would bring you a tray in just a minute."

"But I'm really, really hungry Mummy." Lorcan pouted. "I promise I'll eat all my food."

"One chocolate frog won't hurt." Narcissa unwrapped the candy and handed it to the child.

"I guess one won't hurt." Luna conceded.

"Who are you and what did you do with my mother?" Draco frowned as he tugged the Minister away from the bed.

"What do you know about the investigation?" He asked the former Auror once they were across the room.

"Apparently Greystone was working alone." Shacklebolt shrugged. "His mother had told him that he was Armand Malfoy's illegitimate son. In his mind, if he was your father's cousin, he was entitled to a portion of the estate. So when he became your father's attorney, and your father went to prison, he started skimming from the estate. He was renting out several properties and collecting the proceeds, rather than doing so on the estate's behalf. He had sold some of the Malfoy family holdings and pocketed the funds. When you asked for a listing of properties, he panicked, thought you were going to audit the records and he would be found out. He decided to cash out what he could and run."

"But he couldn't have been my father's cousin." Draco shook his head. "They checked the wands when my grandfather and his brother died. Greystone didn't come up either time."

"Exactly." Shacklebolt agreed. "But in his mind, he believed he was a Malfoy, and he was entitled."

"But then that would mean he thought he was kidnapping his own relative." Draco glanced at the bed.

"He didn't seem to feel an emotional connection to any of the Malfoy family, just the Malfoy money." Shacklebolt snorted.

"I'm glad he's out of circulation." Draco sighed.

"Me too." Shacklebolt agreed. "I'd better head back to the Ministry."

"Thank you for everything you've done." Draco shook the man's hand, before the Minister crossed the room to bid his farewells to Narcissa, Luna, and Lorcan.

The mediwitch brought Lorcan's lunch tray, not quite as much as he usually ate, but she explained that they were afraid he would try to eat too much too fast and make himself sick.

"I'd better get back to the house." Narcissa excused herself. "There have been a couple reporters making a general nuisance of themselves today. Would you like me to issue a statement?"

"That would probably be best." Draco nodded with a look at Luna. "A child under the protectorate of the Malfoy Estate was kidnapped for ransom, but thanks to the brilliant and rapid work of the Aurors, he was rescued and reunited with his mother before any ransom was paid. We thank the Ministry for their assistance and the public for their concern, but everything is fine now, for the child's sake please allow our privacy, blah blah, whatever, whatever. Sound about right?"

Luna agreed. "Thank you."

"Not a problem at all." Narcissa smiled. "Lorcan, be a good boy and do what the healers say so you can come home quickly, all right then?"

"I will." He vowed around a mouthful of chicken. "Thank you Grammy Cissy."

Lorcan finished every bite of his food, and by the time he put his fork down, he was yawning.

"It's all right, love." Luna smiled as she moved his tray aside. "Go to sleep. I'll be right here."

"Daddy too?" Lorcan asked, looking up at Draco.

"I'll be here too." Draco promised.

Both parents tucked him in, giving him his Snorkack to snuggle and kissing his forehead. He was sound asleep within minutes.

"You're going to have to stay at the Manor for a couple more days." Draco said. "I want to make sure the best possible wards are on that property. We won't take any chances with safety. If anything larger than a bumblebee sets foot anywhere on the grounds, I want to know about it."

Luna smiled at him. "Thank you."

There was a soft tap on the door, and it pushed open slightly. Chief Auror Robards stuck his head in.

"Mr. Malfoy, could we speak with you a moment?" He asked.

"Of course." Draco motioned for them to come in.

"Um ... could you step out here please?" The Auror asked.

Draco nodded, following them into the hall. A moment later, Luna came out as well.

Robards cast a silencing charm on the area, Potter standing just behind his boss.

"Mr. Malfoy," Robards sighed. "In our interrogation of Mr. Greystone, he told us that your father had come to him four years ago, and asked Mr. Greystone to help cover another crime. Your father told Greystone that Miss Lovegood's child was conceived as the result of her being sexually assaulted while she was prisoner in Malfoy Manor." Draco sneaked a look at Luna, who had wrapped her arms around herself and was biting her bottom lip. "Your father never said, but Greystone had suspected that your father was the perpetrator. However, when you began publicly spending time with the boy, Greystone came to the conclusion that you were the child's father, and that your father had been covering for you. Now, Mr. Malfoy, in light of this allegation, I must ask you, are you Lorcan Lovegood's father?"

Potter was frantically shaking his head no behind his boss' back.

Draco stole one more glance at Luna, who looked at him with wide, troubled eyes.

He turned back to the Chief Auror and nodded. "Yes, I am."

Robards sighed. "Mr. Malfoy, you are under arrest ... "

"No!" Luna shrieked, throwing her arms around Draco. "Draco didn't rape me."

"Miss Lovegood, no one can harm you now." Robards assured her gently. "There is no reason to feel you need to protect yourself or your child from anyone."

"It's true that I was assaulted, but not by Draco!" Luna insisted. "He never forced me to do anything against my will."

"You're certain about this?" Robards asked skeptically. "You don't wish to press charges?"

Luna gave a shaky sigh. "It wouldn't do any good at this point. The men who assaulted me are either dead or already in Azkaban."

"You can have Mr. Malfoy blocked from having contact with your son, based on the information we have, if you wish." Robards suggested.

Luna stepped back and looked at Draco before turning to the Auror. "I didn't know until recently who Lorcan's father was. I was afraid to find out, really. But Draco found out about Lorcan when his father died. He really surprised me when he stepped up and took responsibility the way he did. But he and Lorcan love each other, and I couldn't ask for a better daddy for my son."

"Mr. Malfoy, is what she says true?" Robards prodded.

"I never raped her." Draco answered honestly.

"Very well then," Robards nodded. "I'll leave the two of you to sort things out on your own."

He turned and walked away with Potter, who looked like he'd been wrung out.

When they rounded the corner of the hall, Draco turned to Luna. "You lied to them."

"No, everything I said was true." She shook her head. "Unlike you, who actually did lie to to them."

"I did not." He folded his arms, looking offended. "They asked if I was Lorcan's dad, and I am. No one said anything about biology or DNA."

"You could have gone to Azkaban." She looked up at him. "You reputation would have been permanently destroyed."

"You and Lorcan would have been protected. And the ones who matter would know the truth." He smiled sadly, and then a bit more broadly. "But I'm glad you didn't let them have me."

"Mr. Malfoy!"

Draco and Luna both turned to see Robert Greengrass hurrying up the hall, red in the face.

"Sir." Draco greeted.

Greengrass gave Luna a look of dismissal and didn't even bother to ask her to leave.

"Quite an unpleasant bit of business that's gone on the past two days." Greengrass huffed. "Glad that the boy is safe, but it's put us in the position of having our family name tarnished by association with yours."

"I'm very sorry about that." Draco apologized.

"Well, not your fault that madman stole a child. But we need to quiet all the wagging tongues. The best way to do that, I've always found, is to not give the gossips anything to talk about. Therefore, I'd ask that you not do any more interviews with the press. I realize we're still within the traditional mourning period, but it would be best if you and Astoria go ahead and get married as soon as possible. Keep her home at least through Christmas. If you want to send her back to school after that, it's up to you. Keep your paramour," he gestured at Luna. "and her child out of sight for a while. At least until Astoria produces an heir."

"Mr. Greengrass," Draco shook his head. "I really don't think it's the best thing for Storie if we get married right now."

"That's neither here nor there." Greengrass shrugged. "You have to put an end to the scandal. Marrying Astoria is the most expedient way to do so. I might remind you, Mr. Malfoy, that you are contracted to marry her when she turns seventeen, and she has been seventeen for over a month now."

Draco nodded.

"I shall have my wife owl your mother about the arrangements." Greengrass told him. "Good evening, Malfoy."

Greengrass bobbed his head, then turned and walked away.

"Come on, let's go back to our boy." Luna said softly, taking Draco's hand and leading him back into the hospital room.

* * *

Lorcan slept until Luna woke him when the mediwitch brought his dinner. She also brought trays for Draco and Luna, realizing they hadn't left the child's side, and therefore hadn't eaten.

He didn't eat as well with the evening meal, only managing to swallow a few bites between trying to construct a tunnel with his mashed potatoes.

"Both of you can stay with him tonight." "I'll just bring in a double cot, and the whole family can stay together."

'I should get back to the house." Draco offered.

Lorcan's face scrunched up and his lip started to quiver. "Don't leave, Daddy." He whined.

Draco looked at Luna.

"Stay." She offered. "We'll figure something out on the sleeping arrangements. I trust you."

"Really?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, really." She nodded before turning back to Lorcan and pressing him to eat more of his dinner.

Lorcan fell asleep shortly after the meal without any protests or even a story, prompting Draco to think they had probably put some potion in his food that made the child drowsy.

"When are you going to tell him?" Luna asked. "That you're marrying Astoria."

"I'm going to wait a few days." Draco looked at the floor and released a deep breath. "Definitely not until we have all the plans in place. Then I want all of us to sit down with him, to make sure he understands that we all love him and he's still important to all of us."

"I think that would be best." She agreed.

They sat silently for a few minutes, until Luna yawned.

"You take the bed." Draco gestured. "I'll sleep in the chair."

Luna frowned at him. "We slept together on the sofa last night."

"That was ... unintentional." He offered.

"Why should that mean anything?" She tilted her head. "It's no different now. We both need to rest, and there's no reason why we can't do so in the same bed."

He still looked unconvinced.

"Fine, I'll sleep in the chair." She shrugged.

"Don't be ridiculous." He snapped.

"You're being ridiculous." She replied. "I've slept in much less comfortable places than this chair."

Her eyes met his, and the familiar shiver of guilt passed through him. She had slept on the cold stone floor in his cellar for months.

He was being manipulated, and he knew it.

Fine." He growled.

She leaned over and kissed Lorcan's cheek, causing the boy to mumble and shift slightly in his sleep. "Good night, love." She whispered.

She walked by Draco, giving him a small but triumphant smile.

He rolled his eyes, but then he stepped closer to the bed and kissed Lorcan goodnight as well.

Luna was already under the covers by the time he turned around. He slipped into bed beside her, perching on the edge as far as way from her as possible.

"Good night, Draco." She whispered, and he could hear the amusement in her voice.

* * *

Draco slowly drifted into consciousness, vaguely aware of being warm. A little more cognition crept in, and he realized something was pressing against his chest. He managed to squint one eye open enough to see that it was Lorcan.

The little imp had climbed into bed with Draco and Luna, and was currently sound asleep, his bum against Draco's chest and his legs dangled over Draco's side, and his head on Luna's stomach.

"Monkey." Draco murmured, carefully lifting the child and turning him so that he was laying properly, with his head on the pillow beside Luna.

"Daddy." Lorcan jerked awake.

"Shhh." Draco soothed. "Right here."

Luna's head raised a few inches from the pillow.

"Go back to sleep." Draco whispered to them both. "It's too early."

Luna laid back down and closed her eyes. Lorcan scooted over to curl against Draco.

"Daddy won't let anything get you." Draco promised softly, and felt the boy's small body relax.

Draco drifted back into darkness, awakening sometime later to sunshine streaming in through the window.

This time, Lorcan was pressed up against his chest, with Luna on the other side of her son, both of them in Draco's arms.

He sighed and carefully disentangled himself, slipping out of bed and walking silently to the bathroom. He stripped down and showered, repeating to himself that his future was with Astoria.


End file.
